By clicking on "School Closing Info" above you can now access information regarding area road conditions from the Michigan State Police. The information in this advisory is provided by law enforcement and public safety personnel working throughout Michigan. The Winter Travel Advisory operates from late November or early December through March 30th. It is updated twice a day or as information concerning travel conditions is received. If you need more current or specific information, please listen to your local radio or television stations. You may also call the Michigan State Police Winter Travel Advisory Hotline at 1-800-381-8477. Conditions are listed for freeways and state trunk lines. These roadways are the first to be cleared during inclement winter weather. It is unusual for conditions on rural and county roads to be better than those listed in this advisory. While drivers are encouraged to use all available information when making winter travel plans, even the latest, most accurate information is not a substitute for good judgment. If weather conditions appear to be too severe to travel, they most likely are.

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The 10.27.11 Citizen Patriot reports that the Jackson County Road Commission has established new guidelines toward when overtime will be assigned to remove snow from subdivisions and gravel roads and when trucks will be sent out on main roads. The Road Commission approved revisions to its winter maintenance policy that would require there to be more than 10 inches of snow on the ground in subdivisions or on gravel roads before asking drivers to work overtime to remove it. (The previous guideline stipulated that this overtime work would be done with more than 6 inches of snow on the ground.) Otherwise, those roads and streets will be cleared as time allows. If workers cannot clear the surfaces during operating hours the day of a snowstorm that drops fewer than 10 inches of snow, then they will be cleared the next day, according to the policy. Click here for the Citizen Patriot story.

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Grass Lake Community Schools is committed to providing transportation to and from school for our Schools of Choice students. We have established a number of group stops that are relatively close to other school district lines. Click here to access a form with which to indicate to our Transportation Department that you would like to have transportation arranged for your children. We will contact you to set things up. PLEASE NOTE: We will confirm receipt of your request. If you receive another form in the future and we have already received a completed form, please disregard the second form.

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The entire Grass Lake Community Schools Transportation staff works very hard to eliminate the practice of students eating on the bus. We emphasize the dangers of choking when there is only one adult on the bus, the driver, and the time it takes to recognize that someone is choking, to stop and secure the bus, and then to come to the aide of the student....all while being in charge of the other students on the bus. In Comstock Park, Michigan, an elementary student choked on a gumball and the driver was able to get the gumball removed. We are always looking for support from our students' parents toward stopping any eating or drinking on the buses. Click here to read the Comstock Park story.

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On Wednesday, January 13, an article ran in the Jackson Citizen Patriot discussing winter bus safety ideas. (Click here to see the article.) The article stated that our drivers "must" see that someone is home when dropping off Kindergarten through 5th grade students. We need to clarify that our drivers do their best to make sure that all children get to where they need to be and there is someone available. But there are many situations when it is extremely difficult to make that claim, such as subdivisions, houses that are a long way from the road, or apartment stops. For you child's safety at any age, we recommend the following:
1. Dress your child for the weather.
2. Make sure they have an alternative place to go in the event that a caregiver is not available at the normal stop.
3. Call the transportation office at 517-522-5544 and your child's school office in the event that a child's normal riding schedule is being altered. (If an emergency change is needed after 2:00 PM for that day's run, call your child's school office. They will contact the necessary people.)
As always, please call the Transportation Department office at 517-522-5544 for any questions. Thank you.

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Pizza Time Pizza is supplying our Transportation Department with complimentary pizza cards for our students who assist our substitute bus drivers with directions for each route. Our substitutes are responsible for driving all 11 bus routes and it is very helpful to have a responsible student assistant to assist them with identifying stops. The complimentary card offers one free pepperoni pizza to the student, who is given the card as appreciation for their service. Thank you Pizza Time Pizza!

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If the school where your child attends delays or cancels transportation due to road or weather conditions, along with making calls through our automatic calling system, the local radio and television stations will be notified, as early as possible. Parents should listen to the following stations for the announcements concerning school closings:

Television: WLNS -TV6; WILX -TV10       
Radio: WKHM - 970 AM

 

Internet:

Grass Lake Community Schools: grasslakeschools.com

WILX-TV10: http://gray.ftp.clickability.com/wilxwebftp/closings.html

WLNS-TV6: http://66.70.209.226/schools/CL_TODAY.HTM