Jan 12, 2018 3 min read

There was a time, in grandpa’s day and beyond, when school districts did not delay classes because of harsh winter weather. Shutter the buildings for a day or two, maybe, but no delays. You put on two sweatshirts, a heavy coat, thermal underwear, thick boots, gloves, a scarf and a nerdy hat and trundled onward – for 17 icy, snowy miles, as gramps tells it.

And you had to get there on time. Then, late in the afternoon, you trundled 17 miles back.

It did not matter whether Mother Nature had transformed your hometown into International Falls, Minn. You found a way to avoid frostbite en route to school by foot, bus or intrepid parent’s vehicle, and learned, dadgumit.

That was a foolhardy mind-set that, fortunately, is a few decades in the past. When wintry blasts are forecast nowadays, school districts routinely delay the start of classes by two hours, canceling only if horrifically cold and/or snowy conditions are expected. Exposing students to these elements could put them at risk, especially in the many rural areas of Washington and Greene counties where walking or waiting for a bus can be torturous.

Five days after the tri-state finally left the deep freeze, the decision to delay or stick with the class schedule is a hot-button issue, one that burns superintendents often. They determine whether their districts the next day will have a full schedule of classes, a truncated one or no school. And, to serve the people paying their salaries, who may have to arrange oversight of their children the next day, these school chiefs strive to issue a verdict expeditiously.

They do have a fair amount of due diligence to perform. James Konrad, superintendent of Washington schools, told the Observer-Reporter last week that “the quicker I can make a decision, the better it is going to be for families.” He said he monitors weather forecasts on all Pittsburgh TV stations at night and touches base with other area administrators on their plans.

Sometimes, superintendents decide at night, before the 11 o’clock news. Sometimes, it’s very early the next morning, when delays and cancellations flash on the TV screen or, in some districts, are communicated by an automated phone call.

The problem, as any basher of meteorologists will attest, is that weather forecasting is an inexact science. It is more accurate than many believe, but the five-inch snowfall or minus-10 wind chill anticipated eight hours earlier doesn’t always materialize.

Superintendents who delay or cancel then would be criticized for overreacting to a forecast, especially by families who had to rearrange their schedules quickly. But if they hadn’t responded appropriately to predictions of dire conditions that ultimately did occur, they would be pilloried.

There is a suspicion that school delays are too common, but in this litigation-happy society – and for the well-being of students – it probably is best superintendents err on the proverbial side of caution. It is a difficult decision, one not based on a perfect science.