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Lansing School Superintendent Chris Pettograsso thanked families Monday for being flexible during weather related school delays.  Monday's wind storm caused power outages across the region.  Pettograsso said that included the Lansing school campus, but the two hour delay was sufficient to make sure everything was working when students arrived at school two hours later than usual.

"We called a delay around 7:15," she reported. "Everybody went with it and were very supportive and helpful.  It was well orchestrated, so I appreciated that."

The middle and high schools both have generators that keep essential utilities like heat and lighting going.  The elementary school has no generator.  Pettograsso said the delay Monday was called because school officials worried about heat during the power outage.

"The power came on the minute I called the delay, so it all worked out nicely," she said. 

Pettograsso says a generator for the elementary school hasn't worked its way up the capital improvement priorities as new capital projects are conceived.  Both of the other two schools have generators, cooking kitchens, and are designated as Red Cross shelters.  She also said that school officials are studying how much it would cost to install a generator in the elementary school.  Pettograsso stressed that in case of power outages while school is in session the district has a plan to keep elementary schoolchildren safe.

"If there ever is a situation we have a safety plan of evacuation (from the elementary school) to the other buildings, if we do lose power, "she said.  So there's a plan in place."

After-school activities were cancelled Wednesday because of the weather related to Winter Storm Ryan.

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