Frozen Buses Delay Restart Of School In Lake Forest, Deerfield

LAKE FOREST, IL — Students at most suburban school districts were back in class Friday as a polar vortex subsides and temperatures have begun to rise, but transportation issues resulting from two days of record low temperatures snarled plans for schools in Lake Forest and Deerfield.

Lake Forest High School, Lake Forest School District 67 , Lake Bluff School District 65 and Deerfield District 109 were all forced to close by busing issues.

Deerfield Public Schools District 109 Superintendent Anthony McConnell said the district's school bus company would be unable to provide transportation due to the extreme cold and "concerns that even if the buses are running there may be issues" with buses that have sat idle for 48 hours in subzero conditions.

"Please know we are anxious to return to school as well," he wrote in a statement on the district's website.

Lake Bluff administrators announced in a statement that schools had been closed "due to the fact that our buses are not able to start." It said the week's weather had "created a dangerous situation with the fuel making it unsafe to transport students."

Deerfield and Highland Park high schools were able to open Friday without any transportation issues.

"Our transportation department did an amazing job making sure all the buses were working this morning," District 113 Communications Director Christine Gonzales said.