Multiple school districts in Arkansas made the decision to release their students early Thursday and today because of the extreme heat this week.
With heat indexes ranging from 108 to 115 degrees across the state, according to the National Weather Service, the Malvern School District in southwest Arkansas and the Brookland School District in northeast Arkansas made the decision to let students out early both days.
The decision by both districts was made primarily due to hot temperatures on school buses, especially those that don't have air conditioning.
The Pulaski County Special School District will release early today for the same reason, as only 52 of the 213 buses in its fleet are equipped with air conditioners.
Elementary schools will release at 11:15 a.m., and secondary schools will release at 12:15 p.m. Students will receive lunch at school prior to dismissal.
A district spokesperson said the heat index for today "was the greatest concern" for the week, with it forecast to be about 112 degrees in the 3 to 4 p.m. window, when the district usually lets out.
The half day missed will be made up at some point in the school year.
A spokesperson for First Student, the company that operates school buses for the Little Rock School District, said they were unaware of any issues this week due to the heat.
"About half of our fleet in Little Rock has air conditioning," the spokesperson said. "These buses are assigned to longer routes. Over the course of the school year, 50 new buses with air conditioning will replace existing fleet."
Brookland, which has five schools and posted an announcement on social media just after 9 a.m. Thursday, decided to release students at 1:30 p.m. each day.
George Kennedy, an assistant superintendent for Brookland, said of the 22 buses in its fleet, 13 are without air conditioning and that heat indexes were reaching "well over" 100 degrees on the buses.
"As we replace a bus, as we buy a new bus, it has air conditioning on it," Kennedy said.
"We're trying to get the kids home before it's at its hottest," Kennedy added. "We're also [making sure] each bus driver [has] water available for them in the afternoon."
Kennedy was asked why the decision for early release was made Thursday morning when the heat indexes have been in the triple digits much of the week.
"Because we want to be in school," Kennedy said. "We do want the kids to be here. And we were meeting trying to come up with ideas to keep them safe and just realized that we couldn't go any farther. We don't want to risk anybody being sick or our kids or our staff. And it's cool here in the building. But when we let them out to go home, it's at its hottest. We just made that decision this morning that we need to do it for the next two days."
Besides the announcement made on social media, Kennedy said parents were notified of the early release decision by automated phone calls, text messages and emails.
"It's not a perfect system," Kennedy said. "But we sent out that message just immediately after we made the decision."
Regarding how Brookland will make up the missed time for its school year, Kennedy said, "We will make that decision at a later time."
"Thank you for taking this seriously!" a woman named Kristin Ungerank said in a comment on Brookland's Facebook announcement. "Some of the bus riders don't have the luxury of being picked up after school! That has to be miserable! With a temperature of 99 and a heat index of 107. Good call!"
Another, Monica Wilmore, commented "thankful to have a school that thinks of our bus riders and wants the best for all students."
The neighboring Jonesboro School District does not have plans for early release on Friday.
It has 40 buses that run 80 routes and all are equipped with air conditioning, according to Superintendent Kimberly Wilbanks.
Wilbanks said the average duration of a route is 35 to 40 minutes.
Malvern, which has four schools, made its announcement Wednesday night on social media at 9:43 p.m., while also notifying parents by automated phone messages.
The district said bus routes would start dismissing at 11:30 a.m.
"The routes will be staggered to allow bus riders with longer routes to be on buses with air conditioners," the statement noted. "We are unable to give a time that your child will arrive home. If you choose for your child to remain at school, you will need to call the school but you will be responsible for getting them home. If your child is a car rider, he/she may be picked up between 11:30-3:00."
A Malvern Schools spokesperson said the district attempted to go about business as usual through the end of the week, but after "observing students being ill and drivers been ill from just getting too hot on the bus for so long" the decision was made for the early release format.
"Drivers are on [buses] more, longer than the students," the spokesperson said. "Most of the students are an hour one way. So it's like a tin can and it's just so hot and we decided for the safety of our students and our drivers that it would be better to do this for the next couple of days, and hopefully, the heat will be over."