How do schools decide to delay or cancel?

By Dustin Grove (grove@wsbt.com)

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How do schools decide whether to cancel or delay

Administrators from three of the area's largest school corporations told WSBT News making the decision to delay or cancel school is one of the toughest decisions they have to make. (WSBT photo)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Jan 14, 2009 at 5:58 PM EST

Story Updated: Jan 18, 2009 at 7:59 PM EST

SOUTH BEND — School districts are watching the weather closely, preparing to make that tough decision whether to cancel classes. But what exactly goes into that decision? And who makes the final call?

Teryn Pasternak battled snow and ice to get to school Wednesday morning. She was frustrated; but not surprised.

“Because I know Penn never closes,” she said.

Well, almost never.

PHM Schools did close twice last year for snow and cold, but Superintendent Jerry Thacker says it's always a tough call and there's no simple solution.

“There are multiple factors,” he told WSBT News.

Like many other administrators, Thacker says he uses an online forecast service to help, plus the eyes of other administrators throughout the district.

PHM covers 140 square miles of St. Joseph County from the Michigan line to Marshall County — including a lot of rural roads.

Like many rural districts, drifting is often an issue and so is the wind chill.

“If it reaches a bitterly cold status that we just don't feel is safe for anybody to be out then we have canceled,” he explained.

City schools in Mishawaka have a unique challenge of their own. There is no district-wide busing, so hundreds of students walk to class. In this kind of weather, walking isn't so easy.

"That's always an issue because, unbelievably, a lot of people don't get out and clean off their sidewalks,” said Mishawaka Schools Superintendent Steven Mills Mishawaka.

So administrators in Mishawaka hit city streets and sidewalks before sunrise to assess the situation. They talk with street crews, too.

It’s the same story for administrators in neighboring South Bend.

"When you have 250 school buses, when you have 20,000 kids that we're worried about, it's a major, major decision that has to be made and we take it very seriously,” said South Bend Community Schools Superintendent James Kapsa.

They all say there's no hard and fast rule and no written policy.

"And regardless what decision you make it's usually not right in some people's eyes; but we really do the best we can,” Mills added.

It's important to point out that school administrators don't actually have the final say; parents do. Administrators say if school is in session, but you don't feel comfortable sending your children to school, you can let the school know and it's always considered an excused absence.

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