How do they decide when to cancel school? 

School divisions have been keeping a close eye on the weather and roads all week.  

Friday was the tipping point for cancelling buses and classes.  

"It’s been a challenging week. We've had lots of buses being stuck “ 

Rob Warkentin is the Director of Transportation for the Hanover School Division and contributes to the information needed to make the decision on cancelling buses and closing schools. 

He says it’s a big decision that they don’t take lightly. 

"It goes with a lot of driving looking at a lot of roads, communication with other school divisions. We've been watching the weather a lot for the last number of days, so it's a bit of a cumulative thing going on. It starts with an early morning, that's for sure. “ 

Warkentin is out checking on roads between 4 and 4:30 AM. By 5:30 AM, they have a sense of where things are at so a decision can be made before 6:00 AM. 

“I've been doing this for a number of years already, so you just sort of get a feel for what you have. (There are) certain areas and roads that you want to check out to see what's happening there.” 

The Hanover School Division covers a large area in the southeast and while some roads or streets seem to fine, Warkentin says it may be a different story elsewhere.  

“One area would say it's fine here, but we have places within the Division and other places where it's worse.”  

*with files from Dave Anthony