The calling process begins at least 24 hours in advance, sometimes several days, depending on the weather system and district.
“Any time we have an opportunity to delay or cancel, I will hear about it,” said London City Schools Superintendent Dr. Lou Kramer.
Dr. Kramer said he himself drives around the district early in the morning to check road conditions.
“Being a superintendent, you now have the power to call a snow day, right? It’s really a tremendous responsibility, I’m sure we all take it very seriously.”
He explained that because of the situation in the district, this is not always the easiest decision.
“The City of London is a mix of school districts, and we also have a lot of rural roads, and so our roads can vary depending on the municipality that is responsible for clearing the roads,” he said. “So looking at all types of road conditions on a snowy day like this, when crews get out on the roads it can certainly vary depending on where you are in the district.”
Southwestern City Schools faces a similar situation because the district spans multiple counties.
“How much rain falls on the road? What do some of the side streets look like? What do some of the major freeways, intersections look like in and around those nine different ZIP codes in our 119 square miles that we cover as Ohio’s fifth-largest school system.” asked Evan Debo, executive director of communications at Southwestern City Schools.
South Western City Schools also has its own fleet of plow and salt trucks, which are ready to go around 3 a.m.
“We’ve got five of these trucks that help facilitate the salt pans, and then about 18 to 20 individual plows on trucks that also get delivered to our 34 different schools and then to our various offices and satellite sites,” Debo said.
For Columbus City Schools, collaboration is key to making the call.
COO Maurice Woods said CCS leaders communicate with transportation staff, city staff, COTA and other districts in the region. There is also a series of approvals for the final decision.
“If they see something to the south or north, they can join in the conversation,” he explained. “The storm is moving this way. We’re seeing wind gusts. So then the conversations start. And that’s when we start collaborating with some of the other districts. So we really have a look around the area to see where the snow is and how it’s falling.”
Woods said it’s all about safety.
“It’s really based on making sure we do the best thing for our students and the safety of our students is the priority,” Woods said.
As far as snow day superstitions are concerned, Debo said unfortunately they don’t change the circumstances.
“We obviously look at more weather-related factors and then the on-site experiences of our employees throughout the day,” Debo said. “But nevertheless we understand that it is part of the school customs and rituals for students, and our staff certainly participate in them as well, whether they admit it or not.”
Some districts do not issue delays, including Southwestern City Schools and Columbus City Schools. Leaders said that due to their bell schedules and busing needs, pushing back the day’s start time would not work.
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