50 below too warm for school

January 30, 2009 • written by Amber Batsch, Co-Editor-in-Chief  
Filed under Feature

        As the temperature plummets into record breaking lows, it falls into superintendents’ and other district officials’ hands to decide whether school should go on as normal or be closed and possibly delayed.

        When making this decision most superintendents use their school’s storm procedures, as well as other informants including transportation directors, other administrators, law enforcement and other resources. For Moorhead and West Fargo schools this process of evaluating the road conditions and watching the weather forecast starts around 4 p.m. and a decision must be made by 6:30 a.m. for bus route purposes.

        “The primary reason, not the only reason, we close schools due to weather is because we believe our busses will be unable to successfully navigate their routes,” West Fargo Superintendent of Schools Dana Diesel Wallace said. “Thus, we allow coaches, advisers, sponsors, etcetera to work with the activities director to offer after-school meetings and practices, as busses are not involved.”

        Wallace added that if a sporting event is an offsite competition and busses are required, then it is postponed along with school.

        Unlike West Fargo’s decision to allow activities to go on after a cancelation, both Fargo and Moorhead schools cancel all after-school activities if school is canceled.

        “Our district activities director consults closely with Mr. Huffman to make decisions about local events and travel for out-of-town activities,” Fargo Superintendent of Schools Rick Buresh said. “School is rarely cancelled in Fargo; so when it is, [the weather] is usually significant enough to justify cancelling all activities.”

        Moorhead’s district policy to enforce this decision is “in the event schools are closed due to severe weather conditions, all after-school activities, including practices and non-school events, will be canceled and the building completely vacated of all but custodial personnel.”

        With all the power superintendents and other district officials hold in their hands, they also have a great amount of responsibility to make the best decisions for their districts.

        “These decisions are the most difficult and probably the most analyzed by students, staff and parents,” Moorhead Superintendent of Schools Lynne Kovash said. “We try to keep the safety of all students at the forefront as we struggle to make these decisions.”