Bad air cancels outside recess

There was no outdoor-recess Wednesday for the kids in Blackfoot School District No. 55. The district made the call early Wednesday morning to protect the students’ lungs from the poor air quality.

“We’ve been monitoring this for the last two days with the air quality,” said Ryan Wilson, the assistant superintendent.

Tuesday’s air quality index in Blackfoot was 125. Over the course of the evening, the air got worse.
“So this morning when we got up we were at about 160 right now. 150 is kind of the line of one way or the other of really being cautious. So we just decided safety for our students is first and foremost in our priority, ” said Wilson.

The district’s decision led to the kids having recess inside.

“When I found out that there was no recess, I was kind of sad because I wanted to play on the monkey bars. But I’m going to play dodge ball. I just got out,” said a sixth grade student in the district.

Some of the kids may be bummed about no outside-play… But the school district says — its all for their safety.

“Just like we do with winter weather conditions that can change, we have the website up. I’ve got it here on my computer,” said Wilson.

The school district will continue to monitor conditions on a day to day basis. Pocatello/Chubbuck, Jefferson and Idaho Falls school districts also canceled activity outside Wednesday.