Windsor and other Jefferson County schools got quite the break in early February. 

A large snowstorm hit the state on February 2-3, which resulted in school being closed for three consecutive days. 

According to KSDK, Imperial received about 8 inches of snow.

Snow and inclement weather creates a large task for the Windsor administration, and a lot goes into calling off school and cleaning around the building. When inclement weather does strike, the school is still using traditional snow days. 

Superintendent Dr. Joel B. Holland was asked about the entire process.

Holland said,  “In making the decision, we consult with the National Weather Service, the Highway Patrol, local highway departments, and all of our other Jefferson County School Districts, as well as all of the various weather media to track and determine the probability of inclement weather.”

He followed up by saying, “Oftentimes, when we do cancel school the night prior or even in the early morning hours, we are doing so ‘sight unseen’; in other words, we are cancelling school before we even know if conditions are going to be hazardous.  But, we have to make these determinations, regardless, as once we start bringing students to school it takes at least 2.5 hours from the first bus leaving the lot until our last bus arrives at our elementary schools.  Then, if we have to send them home, it is another 2.5 hours from start to finish, in order to return everyone home.”

“So, a lot can happen in those five hours in just getting kids to school and in returning them all home, which is why sometimes we cancel when it hasn’t done anything and there have been times that there is never any precipitation that occurs when we have cancelled.  But, it is definitely better to be on the side of caution to protect staff and student safety and also those students who drive themselves to school.”

Student safety is a priority.  While sometimes when school gets called off it may not seem like much, it still can be a danger to students’ safety.

Holland has personal experience with snow and weather conditions at school. 

He said, “I was a 6th grader when one of our buses was rear-ended and three students were killed when weather conditions were very questionable.  When things like this happen, there is no turning back and those families are never the same and communities are never the same.  So, that is my barometer for trying to determine if we should have school or not and that is do I believe and do the weather experts believe conditions to be potentially hazardous.  If so and there is any doubt, then school is cancelled and we can make it up on another day; it simply isn’t worth the risk.”

“I know people can be inconvenienced and such; but, I always want to make sure that students get home the same way that they left it and that is physically and emotionally the same as when their parents sent them to school that morning.”