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UPDATE: (10:30 am) Oyama Traditional School has had power restored and school will go on as usual.
UPDATE (10:15 am) A total of 41 schools in the Central Okanagan School District are now operating with power but two schools still remain in the dark. Oyama Traditional School has about 70 students sitting in the dark but according to Superintendent Hugh Gloster the power will hopefully be restored by 10:30 a.m., if not parents may be called to pick up their children.
Over at Peachland Elementary the power will not be restored until after 12:00 p.m. forcing officials to close the school. Staff are currently trying to contact parents to pick up their children and make other arrangements for them. Gloster says that if parents are unable to pick up their children or send them somewhere they will be kept at the school with staff members.
Original Story:
The heavy snowfall in the Peachland, Kelowna and West Kelowna areas has caused several challenges for the Central Okanagan School District.
Students in West Kelowna are still waiting for school buses to pick them up as snow plows have yet to reach many routes. The areas of Smith Creek, Tallus Ridge, upper Glenrosa and Highway 33 are without buses because of the plowing delay. Other buses have been able to operate on their regular routes, however according to Superintendent Hugh Gloster many delays are being experienced.
But that is not the only challenge that SD 23 is facing, several schools are without power. Outages are currently being reported online on the District’s website. Students that have arrived at these schools are in the care of staff, but are in the dark. The phone systems at these schools are also down because they use a system that requires power, not just a regular telephone line.
“We went out today expecting significant delays and challenges because of the snow, but now we are facing these power outage challenges,” said Gloster. “There are staff members at every school and if they are expected to last an extended period of time we will call parents to inform them.”
Power at three schools is expected to be turned on around 10:30 or 11:00 a.m. according to Gloster, and if they remain without electricity much longer than then parents will be called to pick up their children.
Parents are being asked to ensure that students are not left standing on the side of the road as they wait for school buses, in the event the buses are unable to reach them.
“Schools will be operating to the best of their ability today, however, we recognize that there are challenges with access to some neighbourhoods in the School District,” adds Gloster.
Updated information is being posted to SD 23’s website as the situation changes.
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