As the winter weather gets harsher, Superintendent Greg Walker has recently shared how Paoli will handle issues when the weather impacts the school schedule. A plan was sent out if school was canceled on account of winter weather-related concerns. Walker has determined how many make-up days Paoli will have in the event of a snow day, how he decides on two-hour delays, and even how Paoli could return to e-learning, given that the harsh weather continues to disrupt Paoli’s schedule.
The plan to deal with the harsh weather has been meticulously decided. In the event of a snow day before February 19, that day will be used as a make-up day, rather than just a day off of school. If Paoli has two snow days before April 8, or a snow day after the make-up day in February, then the make-up day for that will be on April 8. However, this make-up day would be made up through e-Learning, as April 8 is the day of the total solar eclipse. The school also plans to distribute eclipse glasses to students so that all students can view it safely. After April 8, if any more make-up days are needed, the first three of those days will be made up through e-Learning. In the possibility of more snow days, those days will be made up at the end of the school year, starting on May 20, and will continue until all days are made up.
When deciding on snow days and two-hour delays, the process behind these decisions, made by Walker, takes thorough consideration in all aspects.
“I use several weather resources: Accuweather, The Weather Channel, The National Weather Service, and WLKY News. Jay Cardosi is my favorite meteorologist, his predictions for our area tend to be pretty accurate. I usually talk with the county highway superintendent to get his take on road conditions. I also communicate with the other two county school superintendents, as well as those in Washington and Crawford Counties,” said Walker.
Walker even makes an effort to determine whether the roads or conditions are safe enough to hold school at the regular time or if school should be held at all.
“I get up around 4 a.m. to drive on the roads. I have a route that I drive that gives me a pretty good gauge of road conditions. If I am driving in the afternoon to make a decision on the next day, I have a more expanded route that I drive that covers the entire district. I always ask myself, ‘Would I want my child riding a bus on these roads?’ and having a bus license myself, ‘Would I feel safe driving a bus on these roads?’ Two-hour delays are used if we think road conditions will improve,” said Walker.
Delays and cancellations are determined not only by road conditions but also by temperature.
“As far as temperatures go, when the feel-like temperature is below zero, we also consider a two-hour delay. The diesel engines of the buses do not like cold weather, so this gives them time to get warmed up. It is also daylight and there is less chance of missing a student who is waiting on a bus,” said Walker.
Overall, there are no exact logistics behind these decisions, and the choice, made by Walker, is usually based on a large multitude of factors, not any single factor.
“There is no exact science. I use the resources that I have and ultimately make a ‘gut’ decision,” said Walker.
