×

School Officials Say Much Thought Goes Into Snow Cancellations

|Photo provided| Ohio County Schools posted this photo taken by an employee examining local roads to determine if buses could safely pass.

WHEELING -Those living in downtown Wheeling or Moundsville may look out their windows and see clear roadways, but that doesn’t mean nearby roads on higher elevations aren’t snow covered and unsafe, school officials note.

When snowfall is in the forecast, school superintendents, operations staff, bus drivers and even county emergency management officials partner in deciding whether it is safe to bring students to schools.

“The safety of the students and our staff are top priority,” said Jody Korn, director of transportation for Marshall County Schools. “We spend many hours and lots of time making the decision. We don’t take it lightly.

“Just because we can look out the windows and see clear roads, there are many places we take buses that are not clear.”

Ohio County Schools posted photos on Facebook this week that staff took of snow-covered roads in outlying areas where it would not have been safe to send a bus.

Karin Butyn, public relations director for Ohio County Schools, said the school district first works in coordination with Ohio County EMA Director Lou Vargo to determine the status of local roads.

David Crumm, director of operations for Ohio County Schools, and his staff are actively involved with checking roads, while maintenance staff check out the status of school properties, she added.

Superintendent Kim MIller and Assistant Superintendent Rick Jones also are involved.

There is a lot of communication, and often administrators call employees who live on more dangerous roads to ask if they are passable.

“Everybody works together to offer their input,” Butyn said. “So often the community looks at main roads and wonders why we are calling off school, but the side roads get icy and messy quickly and we transport thousands of children each day.”

Miller added that a new resource this year is a Perry Weather station that has been placed at Wheeling Park High School. It provides detailed information about incoming weather to the area, and both West Liberty University and Wheeling University also utilize the technology, she said.

“With it we are able to see the highs and lows, precipitation, and expected wind and snow,” she said. “It’s brand new for us.”

School officials get alerts from the Perry Weather station on their phones. Miller noted local superintendents also communicate with each other about the weather and road conditions.

She reported that on Wednesday roads leading up to WPHS continued to be snow covered and “pretty bad.”

“And if a road is that bad, we’re not putting our students in a bad situation,” Miller said.

Korn said she and Marshall County Schools administration spend lots of time watching the Weather Channel and getting updates from the National Weather Service before making a decision to close school.

They also confer with Marshall County EMA Director Tom Hart.

“Our operations staff goes out and runs the roads,” Korn continued. “Superintendent (Shelby) Haines goes out, and our drivers report what the road conditions are.”

Sand Hill is one of the more dangerous areas when it snows, but “there are many twisting, narrow roads” throughout the county the school district must take into consideration, according to Korn.

She said those making the decisions will try to announce by 5:30 p.m. if they are canceling school for the following day.

When there are surprise weather conditions occurring later, a call will be made by 5 a.m., Korn continued. “We already have cooks and drivers on the roads already by that time.”

In Ohio County Schools, Butyn said officials will make every attempt to let the public know by 6 p.m. if there is school the following day.

“But things happen,” she continued. “We can’t always guarantee it will come by 6 p.m., but we will always try to do that.”

School districts such as St. Clairsville are finally back to a full day of school following Christmas break after snow days kept them from coming back sooner.

School superintendents communicate with each other about whether schools will be canceled or not, according to St. Clairsville Superintendent Walter Skaggs. Skaggs, Director of Support Services Lowell Perkins and Assistant Director of Support Services Ray Laudermilt go out to drive on the roads and check the conditions. Between the three of them, they are checking roads and parking lots all across the city.

The district also touches base with the Ohio Department of Transportation and different organizations that take care of the roads.

“The ultimate goal is we do whatever is safest for our kids,” Skaggs said. “We don’t want to put a lot of kids in jeopardy. So it’s easy to defend when somebody says, ‘Why’d you cancel school?’ What if something would have happened? I sure would have regretted it if so.”

A level two or three, and sometimes level one, emergency causes an automatic cancellation, Skaggs said.

Some roads are gravel and one lane throughout Richland Township that buses drive on. Skaggs said he has to take into consideration the back roads that get a lot of snow blowing and drifting.

Even though some days U.S. 40 and Interstate 70 may be clear, the back roads are treacherous, Skaggs said, and there might not be a lot of snow, but there will still be melting and ice.

When deciding on a two-hour delay or a cancellation, the wind chill plays a role. Skaggs said he doesn’t want students standing outside waiting for the bus in below zero windchill, so when the sun comes up, it warms up and makes a difference. Two-hour delays also give the city time to clear and treat the roads. Skaggs said it gives the district a chance to see if what the city is doing is working and if not, the district will move to a cancellation.

In Ohio, school districts are required to be in school for a certain number of hours every year for the elementary, middle and high schools. If the district uses snow days, it takes the hours off of the day and then subtracts until the district knows where it is as far as the minimum number of hours goes.

According to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, schools should schedule excess hours above the minimum number of required hours to accommodate weather-related delays or closings.

St. Clairsville schools have several scheduled days well over the minimum number.

The days are built in to give the school some leeway, Skaggs said.

Staff writer Josie Burkhart contributed to this report.

Starting at $2.99/week.

Subscribe Today