Rural School Districts Struggle With Slick Road Conditions

While much of East Central Illinois is back in school, a few school districts, many of them rural, are out of class for a third straight day Wednesday.

Danville District 118 Superintendent Mark Denman said staff tested the school bus routes Tuesday night with hopes of re-opening.

While rural areas were particularly slick, Denman said there were a few places in the city, near stop signs and stoplights, with the potential for skidding.

Wednesday also marked a third straight day out of school in Oakwood. 

District Superintendent Karen Perry said road conditions got progressively worse Tuesday.  She said some of the roads that were clear early on had drifted over again.

"In some cases it's very difficult to turn buses around because they have to go in narrow areas," she said.  "We also have a lot of students who drive to school, and we want to make sure the roads are safe for them as well,"

Both Danville and Oakwood have now used three of their five allotted snow days for the current school year.  Nearby districts, Rossville-Alvin and Jamaica schools were also closed Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Danville Mass Transit resumed most of its routes, but had to cancel service to Champaign-Urbana due to slick conditions on Interstate-74.