School district calls snow days for safety

  • Sarah Koenig<br>Enterprise writer
  • Monday, March 3, 2008 11:41am

For many children, the school closures caused by snow earlier this week were cause for celebration.

The weather was less fun for Everett School District work crews slipping around on icy roads at 3 a.m. to test conditions. That’s just one of many steps district staff take to decide on, then declare, a snow day.

“It’s very similar in every district,” said Mary Waggoner, district director of communications. “There’s an early morning network of people that unfortunately are out there with their cups of coffee before Starbucks opens.”

District crews go out at 3 a.m. to test potentially troublesome roads in the district, and there are many of them, since the district is large.

“There’s a lot of miles to check,” Waggoner said.

Staff also stay in touch with weather services. In addition, custodians arrive at each school early in the morning, no matter the weather, to check that power is working and report any other troubles, such as downed trees lying across school driveways.

Based on weather reports and direct observation, a report is made to superintendent Carol Whitehead, who makes the decision about whether to close school for the day.

“We make the assessment based on safety, first of all, and whether or not buses are going to be able to go somewhere,” Waggoner said.

This Monday, Nov. 27, for example, roads were icy and some trees were down.

District staff also knew that more snow was headed their way that afternoon, potentially around commute time.

Having to close school mid-day, after the students are already there, is the worst possible scenario for districts, Waggoner said.

“We don’t want kids to go home to empty houses,” she said. “We don’t want parents not to know kids are going home.”

If school were to close mid-day, staff would have to try to reach every parent in the district to let them know, she said.

For closures that happen before school starts, a message goes up on the district Web site and out to radio and television stations.

Principals then call each family at the school using an automated system.

Parents also can call the phone information line, 425-385-4636, for updates.

Sometimes conditions are such that school is open, but bus routes are changed to avoid hazards like icy hills.

In that case, families would be alerted of changes and would have to bring their children to a designated bus stop, which could be at the bottom of a hill or the back entrance of a neighborhood, for example.

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