WJCC Explains Call to Dismiss Early During Snow

By Amber Lester Friday, February 12, 2010

As the snow fell hard and fast Wednesday morning, Williamsburg-James City County officials weighed their options and decided to dismiss school early.

Their decision was met with much criticism from area parents, many of whom expressed concern about putting school buses on slick roads when weather reports were calling for the snow to let up by early afternoon. Others wondered why school wasn’t canceled in the first place.

WJCC officials say none of the weather monitoring services they use predicted the burst of snow that began to fall heavily around 8 a.m.

“Despite our best efforts to monitor weather conditions, there are times when conditions change, causing inconveniences for all concerned,” said Superintendent Gary Mathews in a Wednesday press release.

Director of Transportation Earl Tyler said that prior to making closure decisions, WJCC officials track weather patterns through the Web sites of The Weather Channel, AccuWeather and the National Weather Service, as well as the reports of local TV and radio stations. Colleagues in surrounding school divisions also share information about weather patterns in their areas, he said.

“Depending on circumstances, we sometimes meet with our local Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and receive briefings presented by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, along with the National Weather Service in Wakefield,” he said in an e-mail.

Once the school division becomes aware of an approaching storm, transportation personnel are assigned areas of the city and county to explore. At 3 a.m., the personnel drive the roads and check the schools in their areas, noting the conditions of the roadways, bridges, overpasses, ramps and sidewalks.

“It is very possible for some area roadways to be drivable while another part of the district is not passable,” Tyler said. He said the school district also has to consider students who may struggle in the conditions, such as those in wheelchairs. “The decision for a delayed opening can also be based on visibility so students can see any ice or snow as they walk to the bus stops and for increased visibility for drivers of automobiles and our buses.”

The transportation personnel then meet at 4:30 a.m. to discuss the conditions and Tyler makes his recommendation to Assistant Superintendent of Operations Bob Becker. The recommendations are then considered by Superintendent Gary Mathews, who makes the final decision.

Wednesday’s situation was unique in that some elementary school bus drivers struggled to reach their destinations by the time classes begin around 9 a.m. Facing limited visibility and slick roads, many drivers pulled over and attempted to wait it out. One bus driver’s wheels got stuck in a ditch on Greensprings Road; another bus, carrying one child, was sideswiped in Chickahominy Haven by a pick-up truck, causing minor damage. No one was injured. Transportation personnel told the drivers to turn around and return the students to their neighborhoods.

“We felt that, given the conditions at the time of our decision, our buses could safely return our students home before we reached the point of not being able to return them at all, which would have been a much larger inconvenience for everyone,” Tyler said. “We have excellent, well-trained bus drivers, and we trust them to transport our students safely.” He added if the bus drivers feel they can’t travel safely, they pull over and wait for conditions to improve.

The early dismissal was announced around 9:30 a.m. The division’s early dismissal policy states that if parents aren’t available to pick up their students from the bus stop, pre-school, kindergarten and special education students are returned to their schools until parents can get them. Students in first grade and above can choose to get off or return to the school; approximately 15 students were returned to schools Wednesday. Some parents commented on WYDaily that their students were dropped off without their knowledge. Tyler acknowledged the issues in his e-mail.

“We are the first to understand that unexpected weather conditions are inconvenient for all concerned, and we are very aware that some families will be inconvenienced by weather closures of any kind,” he said. “But above and beyond anything else, our first priority is student safety.”

The school district announced closures through its Web site, automated voice messages and Channel 47. “We understand that circumstances such as this can cause inconvenience, which is why we have these communications tools in place, so we can do what we can to at least make parents aware of the situation,” Tyler said.

In York County, officials decided not to dismiss school based on recommendations from York County’s Emergency Management officials. The schools’ Director of Operations Carl James said the weather was expected to let up in the afternoon and in the meantime, the schools were “holding tight.”