Why was there no school today?
Carroll County Schools Director of Pupil Personnel/Chief Operations Officer explains the process and how the decision to cancel school was made on a day that has many scratching their heads.
“Lots of times it’s very black and white on closing school, but you have days like today that it’s been gray and we had to make the best decision we could,” Willhoite said. “Safety is our top priority.”
Carroll County’s roads are different from one end of the county to the other. Some are on a higher elevation, have more curves, have more open areas exposed to wind, all variables to be considered when surveying roads. Willhoite said today, roads on the east side of the county were just wet, but roads on the west side near the Trimble County line had some frozen precipitation on them. “They were deemed to be unsafe. We definitely err on the side of caution to be safe” Willhoite said.
The process to make the big decision to close school actually begins the day before.
School administrators are tuned into weather reports, blogs and social media posts from meteorologists from the Louisville, Lexington and Cincinnati areas. This gives them an overall picture of the forecast for the region. Superintendent Casey Jaynes also confers with cohorts in surrounding counties and principals to ensure each school is prepared for the potential for a snow day.
The district’s transportation department, Willhoite and Jaynes begin discussions anew around 3:45 a.m. on the day of inclement weather and potential school closure. Transportation employees physically drive roads throughout the county and photograph their condition, forwarding that information on to Willhoite and Jaynes. “In the county there are certain areas we know to be troublesome,” Willhoite said, so those roads and regions are almost always checked before a decision is made.
Transportation employees are also talking with county and state road crews to check the status of salting and plowing roads in real time. Sometimes those crews are unsure of what time a road will be treated so the district has to make a decision based on its available information.
Once the administration determines school will not be in session, then it makes the decision to have a snow day or a non-traditional instruction (NTI) day. On snow days, nobody is in the school buildings. On NTI days, staff are expected in the buildings by 10 a.m. Allowing staff to arrive at school later in the morning will hopefully provide time for roads to be treated, Willhoite said. “NTI is used on days that the roads aren’t so bad and it’s safe for employees to come to school,” he said.
The school district has been granted 10 NTI days to use at its discretion. These days do not have to be made up in the school calendar.
“We try to decide by 5:30 a.m if school will be canceled,” Willhoite said, noting this allows enough time for families, staff and bus drivers to make decisions affecting their respective positions. After the decision is made, the district’s Director of Technology contacts media outlets and posts on social media.
Once school is closed, Superintendent Jaynes will create a message through Infinite Campus and the information is shared on social media. Parents/guardians are notified through that system based on what phone number and email addresses are provided. “It is vitally important that parents/guardians have provided updated information to schools,” Willhoite said. “If you didn’t get a message today, please call your child’s school or the central office.”
