After a week of extreme cold, all seven school divisions in Winnipeg have decided to cancel school buses for Thursday. 

All seven metro divisions made the decision on Wednesday afternoon. The cold weather had put school buses behind schedule by an hour, earlier in the day.

With temperatures not expected to improve by Thursday morning that was enough for them to make the decision ahead of time.

The following divisions in Winnipeg are not running buses:  Pembina Trails, seven Oaks, River East Transcona, Louis Riel, St. James-Assiniboia, Winnipeg, and the DSFM.

Student safety top priority

Pembina Trails School Divison's Superintendent Ted Fransen says that all the divisions make transportation decisions together each day.

"We were faced with a third day of extremely cold weather. Our transportation directors were letting each of us know that there were some issues with mechanical aspects of the buses, and there was some breakdowns. They thought we would be putting students at risk if we had [another] day with long waits at bus stops."

"If a parent has a different view of safety than we do, then we absolutely honour and respect that decision to keep that child home."

Fransen said that Wednesday saw kids standing in the cold for longer periods of time than anticipated and so all Superintendents quickly agreed to be proactive for Thursday to prevent a repeat. 

Parents and students themselves have the power to decide to stay home if they don't feel safe. "Safety is a shared responsibility," Fransen says.

He says that school divisions take student safety very seriously, "but at the same time the parents have a role in safety decisions, and the students, of course, have a role in safety decisions.

"We're pleased that we are a part of that partnership . . . and so if a parent has a different view of safety than we do, then we absolutely honour and respect that decision to keep that child home."

The weather has been hard on many of the buses throughout the city, and division staff expected more problems.

The good news is that temperatures will begin to improve slowly today, with a high of -24. Highs for Friday and over the weekend are forecasted in the teens, right now.