BY JENNIFER WARNICK
Herald Writer
The Monroe School District canceled classes for its 6,000 students and 650 teachers and staff because of a particularly gusty, turbulent morning today.
The windstorm didn’t hit the area until about 4:30 a.m. – only about an hour before the time the district normally makes its delay or cancellation decisions, District spokeswoman Rosemary O’Neil said
“That’s what is the frustrating thing about living in this area – weather conditions change so quickly,” she said.
After the storm, district officials received reports of downed trees and power lines as well as power outages. The district was originally going to delay school two hours. But the power was out at two schools.
“We were given the estimate of 6-8 hours without power, which is pretty much the whole school day,” O’Neil said.
Along with power, getting the students to school would have caused headaches – O’Neil said there were many areas where the roads weren’t clear.
But it’s par for the course in this area, she said.
“We live in the Northwest, where weather conditions change rapidly. While we try to make our decisions as early as possible; sometimes we have to adjust to go with the weather,” she said. “It’s not our choice, but we have to do it for the safety of our students.”
Unless the high winds and inclement weather continue, school will be in session Friday.
East of Monroe, the Sultan School District convened in spite of the winds, though the district could not provide bus service to some outlying areas.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
