WARREN, Mich. – Officials with Warren Consolidated Schools are trying to figure out why 12 school buses broke down and caused the district to shut down Wednesday.
Mechanics are still examining the buses, some of which had students on board. Those students had to be transferred to a second bus, officials said.
The decision to close the district caused headaches for many parents. There was some confusion inside the district Wednesday morning because some students were already at school when they were told classes were canceled for the day.
Officials said 12 buses started breaking down, including one in a parking lot near 15 Mile and Ryan roads.
One mother told Local 4 over the phone that she had to go to the school to pick up her son.
“The bus driver was out placing the triangles behind the bus,” she said. “She was doing whatever she could.”
Freezing temperatures didn’t help the situation, especially since there was no heat on the buses once they broke down.
Officials said the issues began around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. The call to cancel school came around 7 a.m.
Superintendent Robert Livernois said the same buses are used for middle and elementary school students, so there would have been a domino effect in delays.
“Separate from being stranded on the bus, elementary kids (would have been) waiting at a bus stop,” Livernois said. “This was an easy call for me.”
School officials have determined that a fuel problem that affected multiple buses was the issue. School will be open Thursday.