Due to icy weather conditions, all schools in the Mercer Island School District will operate on a two-hour delay today, according to the district website.

For high-school and middle-school schedule information, visit https://www.mercerislandschools.org/Page/17231. Elementary schools will begin classes at 11:15 a.m. today. All morning preschool is canceled today.

“This two-hour delay will ensure all roads and walking paths around our schools are as safe as they can be after the recent snow. District staff will continue clearing parking lots and sidewalks as well as re-inspect the roads and walking path conditions around the campuses in the morning after the anticipated overnight rain,” the district noted on its web site on Jan. 2.

All district transportation will also operate on a two-hour delay today, and there will be no off-island transportation this morning.

On Jan. 2, the district’s transportation and facilities directors assessed road conditions and evaluated the school campuses by driving both school buses and district vehicles on main and non-arterial roads. Given the observed icy conditions, they determined that the delay will help buses arrive at all their stops.

“Delaying the start of school today also enables staff who live throughout the region to arrive at school safely,” the district site noted.