What’s involved in the decision to close school?

This bitter cold winter weather kept schools closed in the area for a second day. Twelve schools were closed today with an additional seventeen on a 2–hour delay. Closing schools is a tumultuous decisions for school superintendents. A lot of considerations go into the final determination before the call is made.

School districts talk with each other and consider the burden that will be put on parents to find alternative care for their kids. They tell us they work together as a team and try to make the call as soon as they can.

“Minus 35 degrees with the windchill is kind of the breaking point. Once you start getting close to that you really have to start to pay attention to that because the safety of the children is number one. You don’t want to put a kid in harms way Also other issues like equipment, buses running and things like that because it gets so cold and it’s hard for them to start,” said John Summerhill, Ishpeming School Superintendent.

Superintendent Summerhill also adds whether or not they believe the streets will be plowed also enters into the equation as well as the capabilities of the classrooms to keep the kids sufficiently warm.