Imagine making decisions that ensure an entire school district’s students and staff will arrive at school safely during winter weather.

But what happens when the weather shifts an hour after that decision?

The transportation directors of the Edmonds and Everett school districts confidently confront these scenarios each winter and take on the challenge battling of snow, rain and icy roads.

Transportation crews begin planning during the fall and organize timing and a line of communication that will spread the word if school will be impacted by the weather before 5 a.m., while most students and staff are still asleep.

No matter the decision, there often are naysayers, said Craig Christensen, Edmonds School District transportation director.

“I’d like people to understand we make a decision on the whole district,” Christensen said. “Even if their front yard is bare and wet, the rest of the district may not be. There’s a need to go to school but there’s a need to take care of safety.”

The decision goes both ways. Another year, Christensen determined it was safe enough for students and staff to drive to school. But later that day an irate parent called to tell him their student slid off the road while driving to school and implied it was Christensen’s fault.

“We had to make the best decision that applies to the entire district,” he said. “We can’t close one school.”

When the first snowflakes fall or the rainstorms that turn roads into ice-skating rinks roll in, transportation staff are in their cars to see firsthand how bad the situation could be.

Christensen starts his day at 3 a.m., driving the eastern zone of the district while a colleague drives the western half. Sometimes he’s up earlier, at 1 a.m., consulting weather services to predict what the weather will do in the next five to six hours based off how cold it was during the night.

Terrie DeBolt, Everett transportation director, starts at 2 a.m. and drives through the district to check on conditions, and checks in with overnight security guards.

At 4:15 a.m., both district transportation leaders consult with their staffs and make recommendations on whether to close school, open late or have limited bus runs. The final decision is made by the districts’ superintendents.

If the buses have to chain up, it’s likely that school will be canceled or delayed.

Some areas are usually slicker than others.

Christensen said 164th Street is often a trouble spot, as is Brier. Woodway once had three inches of snow while the rest of the district had nothing.

“The topography does make a difference,” he said. “The very steep hills that are shaded from the sun by trees or by the direction they’re pointing creates issues for us, too.”

Closures may happen even when some roads are merely wet.

The city of Mill Creek has no equipment to clear the roads, so the Everett district has to depend on Snohomish County.

Lynnwood, Edmonds and Mountlake Terrace do have equipment and get to arterials fairly quickly, Christensen said, adding that Mountlake Terrace has been especially efficient.

Last year, snow and ice hit hard and Christensen and DeBolt are hoping for an easier winter this year.

Christensen said he is not obsessing about last year because the weather conditions are different each year.

Besides, last year’s snow made the decision to call of school easy — because no one was going anywhere, he added.