The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Source:

Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:22 PM

Local School Board Leaders Explain Reasons Why They Close, Delay Schools

When it comes to inclement weather, school leaders are tasked with making the decision on whether to close or delay schools.

Greg Deal, assistant director of Anderson County Schools, said procedures are in place to make sure the school system makes the best decision for the safety of the students and teachers.

"We don't take that lightly. We take it very seriously. We try and make the best decision with the safety of the children and teachers first," said Deal.

Deal said as soon as they get word of potential bad weather moving through the area they immediately start to monitor the forecast and conditions, working alongside the school's transportation director and the bus contractors. Some of the top considerations are transportation - if the roads are safe to drive and if it is too cold for children to be standing at a bus stop.

After reviewing conditions and the forecast, a decision is then made by the director of schools. Deal said the goal is to make a decision in a timely manner, usually the day before weather moves in.

The decision not to have school on Tuesday was announced just before 5:30 p.m. Monday.

If it has to be a decision on the day of the bad weather, they try and make the call no later than 4:30 a.m. that day if at all possible.

"There have been times we've called school to not have snow arrive and we've been criticized for that but we would rather be criticized for that than to miss it and put teachers and students at risk by asking them to get on the roads and go to school," said Deal.

Knox County Schools sent WATE 6 On Your Side a copy of their School Cancellation Procedure due to inclement weather. According to Knox County Schools' procedure:

"The intent is to make the decision as early as possible to allow parents to have the time to make appropriate arrangements. In the event that the decision to cancel school or delay school must be made in the early morning hours, this decision should be made prior to 5:00 a.m. if at all possible."