Kids, teachers head home after being stranded overnight at Highland school

HIGHLAND — As the storm finally broke and roads in northern Utah County began to clear early Thursday morning, worried parents rushed to Ridgeline Elementary School in Highland to pick up their sleepy children.

The stranded students spent the night at the school, playing games and watching movies, and finally falling asleep around 11 p.m. as they waited out the blizzard-like conditions.

The school principal was at a conference in St. George. The teachers stayed up the entire night, eating snacks, talking, laughing and even singing "Kumbaya" in a circle.

Parents began to trickle in at 6 a.m. Thursday to retrieve their children.

"It's been an adventure," said Rich Chiniquy, as he hugged both his daughters with each arm while walking down the school hallway.

Chiniquy was stuck for eight hours in his car Wednesday night attempting to reach his girls. He finally abandoned his car, started to walk, and got a ride home from police just after midnight.

"They're my kids. I had to make an attempt," he said. "It was worth the eight hours." Chiniquy then went to the school Thursday morning using back roads.

About 180 people were at Ridgeline late Thursday night. By Thursday at 6 a.m. 100 were still there, including 65 students, 19 faculty, 13 parents and three small children.

Many of the students had gone out on the buses after school at about 3:40 p.m. Wednesday. Ten of the buses were stranded, then seven, and finally one bus with 30 children rolled back to the school at 9:30 p.m. — an almost six-hour trek to nowhere.

First-grade teacher Kristina Chidester said many of the children were scared and crying when they arrived back to the school after the long bus ride. "I just hugged them," Chidester said.

Chiniquy said, "I'm happy people were willing to spend all night here and take care of them."

Some parents said they believe Alpine district officials should have let school out early Wednesday and gotten the students home safe.

"I think the district has failed us and failed to respond to the needs of this school. I don't know if they were aware of the severity of the situation," said parent Vickie Iverson, who has a sixth-grader at the school. "As a parent, I am outraged that we would ask our teachers to work 24 hours nonstop, only to begin another contract day with no pay, no reward and no thanks," Iverson said. "The district needs to be held accountable for their decision."