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What makes a snow day?
Freemont Tribune
Saturday, December 12, 2009
By Brett Ellis
Steve Sexton knows that when snow and cold hit the Fremont area, his decisions can impact a number of people.
As superintendent of Fremont Public Schools, it is Sexton's decision whether to hold or - as was the case earlier this week - cancel school.
"There are days when whatever you do is going to be subject to different points of view, and that's part of the job," Sexton said. "On any given day you can be the good guy or the bad guy depending on your point of view."
And it's not a decision that Sexton - and other area superintendents - arrives at without considering several factors.Sexton said he keeps tabs on weather forecasts and road information. He also will go out and drive roads early in the morning to get an idea of the conditions.
"In the best of circumstances, I like to have it done the early evening of the night before," Sexton said. "Now the weather and all of that doesn't always cooperate, and frankly neither do the forecasts." Sexton said the decision to close school is made by 6:15 a.m. at the latest, and a decision to dismiss students from school early will be made by no later than 1:30 p.m.
Sexton, though, does not like to use the early dismissal option.
"I really am reluctant to send kids home to empty houses where parents have not had an opportunity to plan for their arrival," Sexton said.
Likewise, he also does not like to have school start late because parents have to alter their routines.
"That makes it more difficult for them," he said.
Like Sexton, Steve Wilson, superintendent for Logan View Public Schools, looks at several factors when deciding whether to cancel school because of inclement weather.
Wilson said he checks a variety of weather reports and also will get out and drive the roads in the district before making a decision.
Wilson also chats with other area superintendents to help reach a consensus.
"We kind of hold our hands together," Wilson said. "If you're going to have misery in making that decision, you're going to do it along with somebody else."
Wilson, like Sexton, prefers to have the decision made the night before whenever possible.
"An early morning (decision) means parent have to scramble for alternative care for children, so the earlier we can make that decision the better," Wilson said.
Logan View does utilize late starts and early dismissals when necessary. Wilson said he also will call for a late start at times to give himself more time to make a decision about canceling school.
Once a decision is made, Sexton and Wilson alert media outlets to help get the information to parents and district employees.
Fremont Public Schools also utilizes School Beacon, which sends information to parents through e-mails and text messages. People can sign up for School Beacon at the FPS Web site, www.fpsweb.org.
Logan View implemented a mass calling system this year called School Reach that notifies people about schedule changes.
Still, no matter how much information superintendents have at their fingertips, a decision can always prove to be the wrong choice.
Wilson recalled a day last year when he canceled school because the forecast called for more than 6 inches of snow.
The snow, though, went to the south and totally missed Logan View.
"You always have to error on the side of caution and make your decisions based on that," Wilson said.
That is even more true for a district like Logan View, where one of the buildings is located in a rural setting, meaning children aren't able to walk to and from school.
"Everybody here drives, whether by bus or by car or something else," Wilson said. "That's a liability that we don't take lightly."
Wilson and Sexton also said there isn't a magic number as far as snowfall or temperature that they look at when making a decision.
"Three or four inches of snow by itself isn't bad, but when you put 25 mph winds with that, it's a different ballgame," Wilson said.
When there are too many snow days in a year, it can mean adding extra days to the calendar or extending school days to make up for the lost time.
Sexton said there is a state requirement of 1,032 hours at the elementary level and 1,080 in middle school and high school.
While both districts have calendars that exceed those minimums, early snow days like the ones this week can make superintendents a little uneasy.
"It's always a concern when you have school closures early in the year ... because you never know what's coming in some of the heavier months," Sexton said.