School Closures & Limited Bus Service
In the event of inclement weather in the area or if the forecast includes a high likelihood of inclement weather, the decision on whether to have school that day or the following day will be made, based on observed road conditions, consultations with other districts, and forecasts.
On the days when the decision to open or close school must be made in the early morning, the Transportation Director and Superintendent of Schools will begin driving roads in the district no later than 4 a.m. to determine road conditions. The Transportation Director covers the southern and eastern parts of the District, while the Superintendent covers the northern and western parts of the district. While driving, they will communicate using radios and share what they are seeing. Around 5:15 a.m., the two will meet at the bus garage, discuss what they observed, and a final decision will be made no later than 5:30 a.m. by the Superintendent. The goal is to have
everyone notified of a closing no later than 6:10 in the morning.
On the days when the students are already at school and inclement weather moves in before school is out, the decision to close schools early will be made on a case-by-case basis with the following understandings:
- A minimum of 2.0 hours is needed to run all transportation routes.
- Running transportation routes early means that some students may not have a parent at home at the time they are dropped off by the bus.
- If a route becomes too dangerous to run safely, bus riders will be brought back to the Elementary Cafetorium and their parents will need to pick them up or make arrangements for them to be picked up and notify their child’s school office of those arrangements.
On the days when the decision to close school for the upcoming day can be made in the evening, the goal is to have everyone notified of a closing no later than 8:00 p.m.
No matter when the decision made is to close school, the Superintendent will begin the process of contacting local media outlets, faculty and staff, and parents. Closing notices to the district’s web page and social media sites will also be made.
Some of the media that report local weather and school closings are:
Television
40/29-Channel 7 (also 40 or 29)
KNWA-Channel 9 (or 51)
KFSM 5-Channel 5