Associate Editor

The snow is coming; let’s have a day off from school. Sounds simple, right?

But wait. The answer’s not that easy.

Obion County School System director of transportation Larry Parks says there are lots of factors that go into deciding whether or not to cancel school because of the weather. It’s a decision not made alone.

Parks said he and Obion County Director of Schools David Huss begin the process when advisory warnings are issued for the area. The first step is to study the ground temperature and determine if the soil is frozen. The next step is to keep constant eyes and ears on the weather forecasts from various sources.

The transportation director will then start his day early at 2 a.m., driving the roadways and speaking with Obion County Sheriff’s Department deputies who have been driving those roadways all night. They’re a big help when just one man can’t travel the whole county in the two hours he stays on the roads.

During the time out driving, Parks also contacts other school districts which are in the line of the inclement weather. They keep him up-to-date on whether the snow or freezing rain has begun falling in their areas.

By 4 a.m., a decision must be made. Parks and Huss talk and compare notes. The director of schools has the final decision as to whether school should be canceled, Parks said.

Parks said the No. 1 priority is the “safety of the kids.” He said they must look not only at whether the county can get the children safely to school on the buses, but whether they can get safely from their homes to the bus stop. He said they must also consider whether their employees can get to school safely.

And, Parks said, he and Huss must consider the safety of the children and employees once they are at school. He said in years past, the students have gotten safely to school on the 

buses during the inclement weather, but insurance reports have shown, more people have fallen on ice getting into the school building. “That plays a part.”

For instance, Tuesday the roadways appeared to clear throughout the day, but temperatures were around 15 degrees and the wind chill was at 0. The snow from Monday was blowing across the roadways. Any snow which had thawed on Tuesday froze overnight, making dangerous black ice. Parks said the decision on Tuesday to cancel Wednesday’s classes was confirmed to be correct Wednesday morning when the schools’ walkways and parking lots were covered with black ice.

Parks said they must also take into consideration reports of inclement weather which are predicted to begin after the start of the school day. “We don’t want to get them to school without any insurance of getting them back home. We have to know we can get them home safely,” he said.

And, he said, they must also consider the safety of the students, especially those in kindergarten through third grade. “We don’t want to get them to school, then send them home to an empty house.” Many parents put their children on the bus, then go to work, he said.

Parks said, speaking for himself and Huss, that they’d rather look bad for calling school off and the weather front not getting to the county when predicted than to have school and someone get hurt trying to get to school or get home.

So, what do the county students do about the missed school days?

Obion County School System attendance coordinator Julie Kendall said the state requires students to attend school 360 minutes per day for 180 days and allows for school systems to add minutes to the school day for inclement weather days. Obion County students go to school for 390 minutes per day for the 180 days, therefore giving the system 13 days to use for inclement weather. Six have been used as of today, she said.

Ms. Kendall said those days, though set aside for inclement weather, may also be used for particular school outages, such as for mold or the flu. Written permission must be obtained from the state for that purpose.

And what if the county misses more than 13 days? Ms. Kendall said that rarely happens. She said before the system “banked” days, the school board would tack the missed days onto the end of the school year. She said the state could also waive those missed days.

In the Union City School System, Director of Schools Gary Houston said he makes the decision in conjunction with supervisor of maintenance Art Ross. He said they both will drive the streets and decide whether they are safe enough for buses to travel, as well as employees and students who drive to school.

“We err on the side of safety,” he said, adding it is different now that the school system uses buses.

Another factor in the decision is the temperature and how it would affect those children who wait for the school bus.

Of course, ice is more difficult than snow, he said, saying it’s easier to travel on snow than ice or snow which has fallen on a layer of ice. And what of the days missed?

Houston said there are stockpiled days in the prepared calendar which could be used in the case of an extreme number of days missed. 

He said in the 13 years he has been with the city’s school system, he cannot recall ever using any of the stockpiled days. 

He said it would be up to the school board to make that decision.

Parents are told at the beginning of each school year the board’s decision about bad weather. Each school handbook, which must be read and signed by the parents and students, states, “make-up days will be added to the end of the calendar.”
Published in The Messenger 2.11.10