Last Updated on December 17, 2019 4:28 pm
With
another high country winter well underway, Watauga County Schools would
like to remind families how the district makes and communicates
decisions about the operation of school during inclement weather.
Watauga
County Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Elliott said during severe
weather, he considers every possibility to keep school open and on a
regular schedule, but certain conditions often force delays and
cancellations.
“Changes in the school schedule have a real
impact on our families, so I don’t make the decision to delay or cancel
school without serious consideration,” Elliott said. “But when it is
necessary for us to make a change to the schedule, I want to be sure we
do the best-possible job to communicate those changes.”
When bad
weather begins overnight, the process for making decisions about the
operation of school kicks off at 3 a.m. when Elliott and Transportation
Director Jeff Lyons begin the process of gathering information about
road conditions and the most current weather forecast.
By 3:30
a.m., a road check team consisting of Elliott, Lyons, and other staff
members begins driving assigned routes to check road conditions
throughout Watauga County. Lyons and Elliott both routinely participate
in a morning live conference call with National Weather Service
meteorologists in Blacksburg, VA at 4:30 a.m.
Already this
November, Watauga County Schools employees have checked roads overnight
four times. In an average winter, crews are on the road approximately 40
mornings.
The final decision about school schedules and bus
routes is based on information gathered from the road check team,
NCDOT, local law enforcement and the latest weather forecasts.
That
decision is normally made before the first school bus departs at 5:25
a.m. and is announced in several ways: a statement at the top of all
pages of school websites at www.wataugaschools.org;
via local media outlets; by automated phone messages, email, and text
messages to parents; via Twitter at @WataugaSchools; and through a
recorded snow line message at (828) 264-0200.
If you have questions about the limited bus routes for your school, you can get more information at wataugaschools.org/limitedroutes, or by contacting the WCS Transportation Department at (828) 264-6391.
Elliott
said there are times when it is difficult to determine if schools can
remain open. He said the decision to cancel school must take into
account conditions across the entire county, which often vary widely.
“Every
day, Watauga County Schools has buses and student drivers that travel
roads ranging anywhere from 1,900 to 5,500 feet in elevation,” Elliott
said. “Because of how varied and diverse our county’s landscape is,
there will be times when families living in areas with clear roads will
wonder why we made the decision to close or delay school. Because we
operate as a unified school system, we have to make a decision based on
what is safe for families across the entire county as well as for our
student drivers at the high school and over 700 employees.”
When
road conditions are acceptable on heavily-traveled routes, but
secondary roads are still covered, Watauga County Schools will employ
limited bus routes. The usual limited route option is called Limited
Routes A. A more restrictive limited route option, consisting mostly of
numbered U.S. and state highways, is called Limited Routes B. Details of
both limited route options are available on each school website and
printed copies are available on request from a school office.
When schools are closed for inclement weather, the missed days are made up at a later date.
Holding
classes on Saturday to make up a missed day is an option after the very
first snow day. However, Saturdays will only be used for makeup during a
week in which schools have been closed at least one day. There will be
no six day weeks.
The plan for making up missed days is available wataugaschools.org/calendar.
A paper copy can be requested from any school office. In making
vacation plans, families need to remember that spring break can be
shortened or eliminated and that the school year may extend well into
June if a severe winter results in frequent school closings.
Watauga
County Schools are closed an average of approximately 15 days per year
for snow and ice, with wide variation around that average. The number of
days missed has ranged from a low of four days in 1990-91 to a peak of
39 days in 1977-78. The system missed 20 days for weather last school
year.
Elliott said as winter weather approaches, it’s important
that parents update their contact information with their school’s front
office, as that information will be used to announce closing, delay and
emergency information.