LEROYPENNYSAVER&NEWS -DECEMBER 6, 2015
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byKimCox,
Superintendent of Schools
It’s that timeofyear again, “to
closeschoolornotcloseschool”.
I am hopeful with this great late
fall weather that the winter will
be kinder to us than it was last
year! (Really, could it get any
worse?) At any rate, I thought
it was timely to remind people
about the many considerations
that are reviewed before the
decision toclose school ismade.
First and foremost, we begin
with looking at the forecast.
We try to look not only at the
morning commute, but what is
expected throughout the day.
We have to consider what our
students are doing beyond the
school day, aswell as getting to
and from school.While the fore-
cast is helpful, we all know that
it can often be fickle, especially
in our regionwhere theweather
canbesignificantlydifferent ina
twentymile radius and a twenty
minute time span.
While it is ultimately the su-
perintendent’s decision to close
ornot,manyplayersare involved.
Once the forecast isconsidered,
I confer with our transportation
director between 4:30-5:30 in
the morning. He has generally
already had conversations with
the highway departments, the
sheriffor localpolice, andseveral
transportationdirectors fromother
schools. Hehasalsobeenoutand
driven the roads.
I also speakwith other school
superintendents, especially those
in contiguous districts. We gen-
erally are phoning and texting
between5:00-6:00am.Weknow
it is important for our families
thatweget this informationoutas
soon as possible in themorning.
When possible, making the call
thenightbefore ishelpful,butnot
always practical. We also make
every effort tomake calls before
6:30 am, as that iswhenour first
buses go out.
The traditionofwalkers inLeRoy
playsa role inourdecision.While
not asprevalent as in thepast,we
still have about 30%-40% of our
students walking to school any
given day.
I take all this information into
consideration before rendering a
decision. Hereare someweather
guidelines.
•
Snow:
If copious amounts
of snow is falling, is expected to
continue throughout the day and
is difficult to remove, we would
most likely close.
•
Cold and wind chill:
The
Health Department has always
recommended that if the wind
chill is -20 to -25, consistently,
close. However, it is important
to note that wind is a major
factor in cold closures. I tend to
think that with our walkers, -15
to -20 would be cold enough to
consider closing, especially in
conjunction with strong winds.
Cold temperatures, with little
to no wind, are not necessarily
a reason to close school.
Please
note, ifyourchild isawalker,on
very colddays, buseswill offer
rideswhenpossible.
•
Visibility:
Limited visibility
will almost always close school.
•
Travel advisory or “states”
of emergency:
If the County
closes the roads, we are closed.
Travel advisories almost always
closeusaswell.Sometimes travel
advisories are called in neigh-
boring counties andpeople think
that we should adhere to that. It
is important to remember in our
region, the weather can present
quitedifferentlywithinshortdis-
tances. We rely on the Sheriff’s
Departmentand/orVillagePolice
to help uswith this call.
•
Heat, water, fire, and elec-
trical issues:
These can also
cause one or more buildings to
be closed.
Some days it is easy to make
the call, but other days it is
muchmore difficult. In the end,
parents should always know that
the choice whether to send their
child to school, or not, is theirs.
Studentswill not be penalized if
they do not attend school due to
weather conditions.
Hopefully,wewon’t need any
of this information this year!
Superintendent ’ Column
s
FirstBaptistChurch
5E.MainSt., LeRoy, NY
Come enjoy a
FREEBREAKFAST
,
with your family& visitwithSanta!
A small gift will be given to each child inattendance.
The breakfastmenuwill include: scrambled eggs,
pancakes, donuts, coffee, tea,
juice andmilk.
Reservationsmaybemadeby calling
768-8958.
Please leave your name and the number of adults and the
number of children attending.
Sponsored byFirst Baptist Church
12/6
Breakfast
WithSanta
Sat., Dec. 12th
9:00-10:30am
