Winter Weather Decision Making at D-T

Doniphan-Trumbull Public School Families and Patrons,

Winter weather is quickly approaching, as such, I want to help inform the families, students, and community about the process for making a snow / cold day decision. As with any rural district, covering lots of square miles, the conditions may vary where you live and families are always able to keep their children at home if they don’t feel safe sending them on the road.

The process for postponing or canceling school is governed by the Doniphan-Trumbull Public School Board of Education Policies below, specifically the “inclement weather” portion of Policy No. 2410.

Some key points of that policy are listed below:

School district buses will not operate when weather conditions due to fog, rain, snow, or other natural elements make it unsafe to do so.
As weather conditions vary around the school district, we use the best information we have with our best professional judgment at the time we need to make a decision.
The final decision to determine that conditions are unsafe to operate is made by the superintendent.
This final decision is informed by “on-location” reports from other drivers and professionals, including the National Weather Service.
Cancellation notices will be sent via the “all call emergency notification” via Infinite Campus, TV, school website, DT Cardinals APP, and social media. Please make sure you have the most up-to-date information in Infinite Campus. Log in to confirm or contact your building secretary.

Key Points if you want to skip the rest of this information:

The following information provides a look inside the process and consideration of deciding on cold / snow days.

BEFORE WINTER WEATHER

I connect with local superintendents, bus drivers, and operations staff to ensure we are still on the same page with communication and processes

COLD DAY PROTOCOL

When projected wind chills are between -25 and -30 we go on high alert. This means I am up through the night monitoring whether or not those projections are accurate. If we hit the -30 mark, the school will likely be postponed by 2 hours, or potentially canceled for the day.
Meetings occur as early as 48-72 hours out of the weather event and include text messages, zoom calls, and multiple instances of collaboration with local authorities including the National Weather Service.
- The most reliable source and valuable information I utilize; in addition to local experts, is the www.weather.gov website, and then click on the local map to drill down to local conditions.
When projected wind chills are below -30 we likely will proactively decide to cancel or postpone.

COLD DAY ARGUMENTS

-30 is just an arbitrary number so why do you use it?
- We should never close because of the cold. Tell kids to bundle up.
  - When weather conditions deteriorate during the day after school has begun, cancellation
notices will be announced by TV, Infinite Campus, DT Cardinals APP, and the district website. Students will be returned to their regular drop-off sites unless weather conditions prevent it. In that case, students will be kept at or returned to school until they are picked up by their parents.

SNOW DAY / ROAD CONDITIONS PROTOCOL

Each week during the winter months I touch base with our Transportation Coordinator and Supervisor of Maintenance, Grounds, and Custodial about any potentially inclement days.
Sometimes it is easy and we get to make the call the night before – that is the ONLY time I like snow days. Oftentimes, that is not the case.
If an inclement weather day is approaching, we touch base the night before and institute “the protocol”
If the information we get is a NO GO – then I immediately inform the BOE and Leadership Team and send the all-call to go as soon as that decision is made, potentially the night before.
If it is an ‘iffy’ situation, the transportation department and I drive the roads to inspect for themselves
- I consult with others who are driving the roads because they are experts. So, while I know what my Toyota Camry can handle, I have no idea what an empty bus or a bus full of kids can handle. In other words, I leave it to the experts.
By 5:45 am, after driving and conferencing with the road officials, the National Weather Service I decided with a recommendation with the driver’s input in mind.
On rare occasions, Transportation has gotten back to me after 5:45 a.m. to change the recommendation.
- This can happen as our partners change the feedback they have previously given
- This can happen if roads we thought would be able to plow open prove more difficult to open than expected
- This can happen as more buses get on the roads and report back
- This can happen as conditions change.
Yes, the rumored panicked superintendent text group exchange exists. No, we do not all make the decisions together. Although it is true, there is safety in numbers. Most districts have their protocol and follow them. The text chain is a communicative courtesy.
And ice – every decision-maker in these situations is terrified of ice. It is less predictable and more hazardous.
If students are ever picked up and then school is postponed or canceled, students will be returned to their pick-up location for families to pick up.

SNOW DAY ARGUMENTS

If you have school on a day when roads are questionable you do not care about the safety of students and staff.
- Moreover, I have served alongside leaders who have lost students tragically in a school-related accident on a typical weather day, but the water had re-froze on the road. As with all decisions, I make them as if my students were driving or riding. If anything, we are hypersensitive.
- Nothing could be further from the truth. If our buses can safely travel, then we choose to operate them in most cases.
Snow days impact the continuity of learning.
- I know. I don’t like it.
Snow days burden parents with child care.
- I know. I don’t like it.