Gasconade County R-2 School District dismissed students around 11:30 a.m. on Monday after inclement weather that was predicted to drop two to five inches of snow arrived early. Superintendent Dr. Jeri Kay Hardy said she was proud of everyone in the district for coming together to get students home safely.

“We have to pivot for extreme situations,” Hardy said. “The snow was not predicted until 4 p.m., and we thought everyone would be home on time. At 10 a.m., the snow had started, and we had to get the kids home.”

Notifying parents of the early dismissal, bringing bus drivers back in and feeding students before they left for the day became the top priority.

“By 11:30 a.m., all of the drivers were on campus to pick up kids and start the routes,” Hardy said. “A shout out to our cooks for getting everyone fed from the time I let them know we were getting out early until the buses were loaded.”

The Rolla Tech bus returned to campus early to send students home before the roads worsened.

“We had one bus out on Rosebud Road that we had to take salt because where they dropped students off was between two hills,” Hardy said. “We had to take some salt out to get traction. The hill was too slick to get up. Our transportation director took the last student on that bus home.”

There were no bus accidents.

“It took about two hours for every bus to be unloaded and returned to the bus barn,” she said.

The district’s 42-bus fleet received a 95 percent on its August inspection and was recognized in October by the Missouri State Highway Patrol for achieving Fleet Excellence.

The board approved purchasing two new buses and leasing another two on Nov. 17 from Midwest Transit. The board approved the bus lease with a 6-0 vote, and Hardy added that they will be the only ones being leased.

“Special education provides funding to lease buses, which are used to provide special transportation services for students,” she explained. “We can lease them for so many years, and then when that lease runs out, we have the option to buy them. I believe those are the only two we are leasing right now.”

The new purchases will include a 71-passenger bus and a 36-passenger bus, not to exceed $154,231 per vehicle, from Midwest Transit. The leased bid was approved for $28,989 per vehicle for a second set of buses.

Buses are expected to join the fleet rotation in the 2026-27 school year.