That was the question this morning. While I realize it’s hugely disappointing to our students when I do NOT call a snow day, it’s for good reason. Once we know that the roads are safe for our buses, I’m relieved. We want our students here in school! For as much time as we can possibly have them here.
There’s a great system in place at Springville. We talk with the highway supervisors–ALL of them–early in the morning to hear how the roads are in this big 160+ square mile district. Once our transportation supervisor, Ann Rugg, hears the “all clear” from each of them, we talk about the forecast and make the decision to stay open or to close.
While I appreciate that the local news stations have a job to do in reporting what’s happening, I’m going to go with the advice of our highway supervisors and Ann Rugg before I consider what a reporter driving around in her car is observing. There’s a whole lot of hype on the news about the weather and it’s important that I have solid, up to date information from our credible sources throughout the school district.
It’s actually not an easy call. This is my ninth school year as a school superintendent and I still worry about the decision. Making the right call about something as unpredictable as our WNY weather and the safety of our roads for our buses is important. I definitely don’t want to make the mistake of keeping school open and risking the safety of our students and bus drivers. But I don’t want to cancel needlessly either because that causes our working parents to scramble for daycare and local businesses to struggle with staffing levels if their employees have to call in.
Back to our students, I know that my announcement of SNOW DAY brings joy to your hearts. Just remember we love our students and we want you to be here with us! And I’m guessing we’ll have a few times this year when you can feel the joy. 🙂