Inclement Weather

Inclement Weather Procedures

During the course of a school year, there is always the likelihood that our District will experience weather conditions that could warrant the need to delay the opening of schools, release schools earlier than scheduled or close schools altogether. Making a decision to alter the schedule or cancel school is a big decision that is not taken lightly, so we are taking this opportunity to share with you the precautions we take when we are faced with the possibility of inclement weather.

Who makes the decision to delay, release or close schools?

The decision to alter or cancel the school day is made by a team of departmental administrators, led by the Superintendent of Schools. A team approach helps us to evaluate the impact of weather on our transportation fleet, school facilities, food services, as well as school-day and after-school activities.

Individual schools do not make decisions to delay, release or close schools. However, we could experience weather emergencies that only impact the schools in one area of the county.

How does BCS monitor weather conditions?

The District team does not work alone. Before making a decision to change our schedule, we consult with local emergency preparedness officials and national and local weather services. We track data days in advance, when possible. We gather the best, most timely information available before making a decision to delay, release, or close our schools. We are mindful that a change in our schedule creates changes in schedules for all of our families and we are committed to providing as much notice as possible. To protect the safety of our students and employees, monitoring weather conditions is a part of our daily business.

How does BCS communicate a change in schedule?

When it is reasonably possible, we will provide notification of a schedule change the evening before to allow parents to have time to make arrangements. Sometimes we withhold making a decision until the early morning hours before a school day because weather conditions are predicted to change during the night. We will advise our parents and employees if decisions about a school day will not be made until early morning hours. 

At a minimum, we are committed to a minimum two-hour notice for a change in schedule. While school schedules may change for inclement weather, the work day for most parents will often stay the same. We recognize that parents of younger children need time to arrange for supervision during “gap” times caused by schedule changes.

Once a decision has been made, we will use all means possible to communicate a change in schedule via our website, Facebook, Remind, our automated notification system and local media outlets. Help us help you stay informed by becoming our “friend” on Facebook.

Make sure your contact information is up-to-date at your child’s school. Our automated notification system sends messages to the last telephone numbers and last email addresses you provided to your school.

Monitoring the roadways

On days we provide a morning notice, we have employees on roadways monitoring to ensure the safe traveling conditions while most people are still asleep. We monitor miles of roadways (paved and unpaved), as our 74 buses travel nearly 6,300 miles per day. Our transportation team knows the areas that tend to present challenges during inclement weather. After riding the bus routes before dawn, the team communicates to share what they saw and the information is used in making a decision.

Bus transportation

If your child rides the bus, rest assured that our buses are heated. On cold-weather mornings, our drivers begin earlier than scheduled to start buses and warm them up before the first stop. If your child must stand outside during cold temperatures, please make sure they are dressed warmly.

If a school delay is issued, bus riders are asked to plan for an equal delay in the time for their bus to arrive. For example, if a bus stop was regularly scheduled for 7:10 a.m., a two-hour delay would change the bus stop to 9:10 a.m.

If your child is a car-rider or driver, a two-hour delay would be applied to the beginning time for his/her school. For example, if his/her school begins at 7:30 a.m., a two-hour delay would change the beginning time to 9:30 a.m.

Monitoring our facilities

We monitor building conditions to ensure that building utilities are fully operational. Our school facilities are monitored electronically. We are able to activate heating and cooling systems and monitor building temperatures remotely. On inclement weather days, designated employees arrive to work earlier than their regular time to “walk-thru” building to make sure utilities are in working order. Our Maintenance Department is on-hand to respond to calls from schools in need of assistance. As a part of preventative measures, our Maintenance Department goes through a “winterization” process for campuses; protecting pipelines, checking heating systems, shutting off irrigation systems and providing tools to help remove ice from walkways. During potential flooding and high-water events, our Maintenance Department provides sandbags to the schools to help reduce the chance of a water breach.

Make-up days

The District is required to schedule make-up days for days of cancellation. Delayed starts and early dismissals for inclement weather would typically not have to be made up. The District will make a notification about any make-up days as soon as that information is determined.