Waking up on a snow day is the best feeling in the winter. But what goes into calling one?
Spring Lake Public Schools Superintendent Dennis Furton makes the final decision of determining whether a snow day should be called. Factors such as keeping up with weather alerts, communicating with the transportation department and neighboring schools, and road conditions play roles in cancelling school.
The decision making process starts as early as 3:30 a.m. or 4:30 a.m. The news of a snow day must be announced to the public no later than 6:00 a.m. This way, early in the morning parents can figure out arrangements for childcare.
Starting the decision making process, the SLPS transportation department sends out the director and three other drivers to test the roads. They will then start to consider the conditions for private vehicles as well as bus transportation. Soon after, they report the conditions back to Furton. Once Furton gets the report, he and the other Ottawa County superintendents (Fruitport, Grand Haven, Coopersville, and Allendale) contact each other helping make the final decision.
“We look at driving conditions more so than a specific type of precipitation,” Furto said. They look for slippery roads and low visibility, he said. Stopping distance can be affected by ice on roads due to the lack of traction, which could cause more chances of accidents. Low visibility can be caused by snowfall, wind, and fog. The main goal is for students and staff to have a safe drive to school.
Making the choice of having a snow day for the whole school district is a hard position to be in. Sometimes the final decision is wrong, with conditions being better than expected after a cancellation, or school does not close but the roads end up being messy and way worse than predicted. The team learns from wrong decisions, Furton said, but with safety being the most important thing, school will tend to get cancelled even if they are not certain it should be.
