Winter weather is on our doorstep so Carroll County Schools would like to give you an overview of how it determines to cancel school for inclement weather.
The process to make the big decision to close school actually begins the day before.
School administrators monitor weather reports, blogs and social media posts from meteorologists from the National Weather Service Wilmington office, which includes Carroll County. This agency is used as the measuring stick for school closure.
Administrators also keep pace with Louisville, Lexington and Cincinnati area meteorologists, which 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.
Carroll County Schools Director of Pupil Personnel/Chief Operations Officer Mark Willhoite emphasized that all decisions are made with safety in mind.
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. “We definitely err on the side of caution to be safe,” Willhoite said.
The district’s transportation department, Willhoite, Jaynes and Carroll County Emergency Management begin discussions as soon as inclement weather is predicted. Director of Transportation Dianna Dunn drives roads throughout the county and photographs 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. Local law enforcement and emergency management also assist with updates on road conditions.
“Dianna is also talking with county and state road crews to check the status of salting and plowing roads in real time,” Willhoite added. 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.
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 as early as possible if school will be canceled, but unfortunately, there may be times that a decision cannot be made until early in the morning,” Willhoite said,
Once school is closed, a message will be sent to all staff and families via text, email and phone call. The information is also shared on social media, school websites as well as radio and TV stations. Parents/guardians are notified based on what phone number and email addresses are recorded in Infinite Campus. “It is vitally important that parents/guardians have provided updated information to schools,” Willhoite said.