ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis elementary school's students had to board buses at 9 a.m. Thursday morning in an effort to escape the area's extreme heat after their building's air conditioning went out. They'll have to do the same thing on Friday.
The entire student base of Pierre Laclede Elementary School retreated to the nearby Stevens Middle Community Ed., St. Louis Public Schools said in a post on social media. Students remained at the school until around 1 p.m. when they returned to the elementary school for dismissal.
Students will have to go through the same bus ride on Friday as the HVAC system at the school is still reportedly broken, the district said.
"The building is cooling, but in an abundance of caution, we feel it's best to repeat the process for one more day," SLPS said in a Facebook post. "We fully expect to be back in the Laclede building by Monday, August 28."
SLPS also notified parents early Thursday morning that numerous students would face bus delays after multiple drivers called out sick due to the extreme heat. Morning and afternoon bus routes could see delays from 30 minutes to two hours long on Thursday and Friday due to the large number of bus driver absences.
The district encouraged parents to pick up and drop off students or coordinate a neighborhood carpool if possible but said it would also provide students with bus tickets if their bus is delayed or canceled. The district also reportedly made arrangements to keep children after school dismissal to accommodate families if needed, according to the letter to parents.
It's unclear whether Pierre Laclede Elementary School is one of the schools facing busing delays.
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