Bundle up – CMS will stick to normal schedule Thursday despite bone-chilling cold | Charlotte Observer

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will continue on a regular schedule Thursday, despite some chilly classrooms Wednesday and a forecast for even colder weather overnight.

Around 5 p.m. Wednesday, while coastal districts faced serious snow and schools as near as Union County sent kids home early, CMS officials looked at clear roads and made the call to open on time. That will include North Mecklenburg High, which was closed Wednesday because of heating problems.

Families should continue to check Here Comes the Bus, a tracking app that offers real-time updates on individual students’ buses, or social media (@CharMeckSchools on Twitter and Facebook accounts) just to make sure. In September CMS announced a regular schedule despite the approach of Hurricane Irma, but decided on a two-hour delay later that evening, with word failing to reach some families.

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On Wednesday, the first day back from winter break, CMS opened on time as well. While some students had to switch classes because of partial heating outages, district officials said they said they faced no major problems rolling about 1,100 buses out before daybreak.

“Fewer than 50” of the district’s 176 schools opened despite heating problems in some classrooms or hallways, frozen pipes and other weather-related challenges, according to the district. Students were moved out of unheated areas until repairs could be made.

“Many of the identified issues have already been repaired,” spokesman Tracy Russ said early Wednesday afternoon. “These issues have not halted the educational process at any school with the exception of North Meck.”

The possibility of Wednesday afternoon snow spurred early dismissal in Wake County and several districts east of Charlotte, including neighboring Union County.

Nighttime temperatures are expected to be below 20 degrees the rest of this week. Russ said staff spent Tuesday checking buses to make sure they started and brake lines hadn’t frozen, then hit the lots early Wednesday to make another round of checks.