The decision to cancel or delay school is based on several factors, and is often one of the most difficult decisions to make. The district takes several things into consideration, including road conditions. educational needs of students, family childcare arrangements, and safety of staff and students.

The Superintendent will confer with district employees and administration about weather conditions and safety of transport. They will also conference with other area superintendents regarding possible school closure.

The Superintendent will evaluate snowfall, current road conditions and potential for icing, temperature, safety of student drivers, parking lot and sidewalk conditions, and availability of buses and drivers.

As always, parents reserve the right to delay or excuse attendance of their child when weather is a concern.

The decision to cancel school is typically made by 6:00am and is immediately communicated to staff and families/students via email, text and district social media, as well as local TV stations. While it is preferable to make these decisions the night before, it is not always possible. Please make sure that you are able to receive alerts from the district (general and emergency notifications).

If the school district needs to close schools for any emergency reason, including inclement weather, information is available:

• Through mass notifications to families via automated text messages and/or emails

• By following the district on Facebook

• By visiting the district website

• By watching local television channels

In the event that a specific bus route is unreachable due to weather or road conditions, the transportation director will assign an alternate pickup location for those students. If there is no alternate pickup location, the transportation director will contact parents directly and the route will be cancelled for the day. Students affected by these routes will have an excused absence from school due to lack of transportation.

In some cases (not all), road and weather conditions improve once the sun has been up for a few hours. This allows our bus drivers to safely travel their routes, and gives our grounds crew a few more hours to treat parking lots and walkways. Enforcing a delay rather than a cancellation allows us to continue to maintain our state required student contact days, as well as a safe, warm place for students to be during the day.

2 Hour Late start guidelines:

• All school start times will begin at 10:00am

  • Doors will open at 9:30am

• If delayed start falls on a PLC Day, the PLC will be canceled. All schools will start at 10:00am

• Dismissal times will remain the same for all buildings

• All morning-only preschool classes will be cancelled

  • Afternoon preschool will continue as normal

  • Full Day preschool will follow the 2-hour delay

  • If delay falls on a Friday - all preschool classes will be cancelled

• All morning bus routes will run two hours later than normally scheduled.

  • For example, if your students normal pickup time is 7:05am, they will be picked up at 9:05am

• All afternoon bus routes will run on normal schedules

• Field trips scheduled to depart before 10:00am will be canceled/postponed

• Grab and go style breakfast will be served

  • Lunch will be served as normal at their regular times

• No morning school activities will occur these days (athletic practices, club meetings, tutoring, etc)

• 8th Graders CTE programs will be cancelled and students will not shuttle to OHS for 1st or 2nd hours

• Off-Campus CTE programs will follow their campus's weather policies; transport for these programs will be decided on a case by case basis

• Please refer to school communications regarding changes to athletic events or activities scheduled that day

The decision on whether or not to close school is never a popular one. If parents are not comfortable sending their students to school, they have the right to keep them home. Please be sure that all student absences are called into their appropriate building secretaries.