Local school officials talk about weather delay process
By Gary Lloyd
JEFFERSON COUNTY — When many people are nervous about driving on potentially icy roads, local school officials are on them.
Trussville City Schools Superintendent Pattie Neill rides through the section of town in which she lives, while other school system employees do the same. Jefferson County Schools mechanics and transportation employees ride and survey roads.
It’s all in an effort to determine the best course of action. Should school start on time? Should the start time be delayed two hours? Should there be school at all?
Last week and the Friday before was a trying time for both systems. There is much to consider.
The snow outside Clay-Chalkville High School last week
photo by Gary Lloyd
Trussville City Schools dealt with some issues the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 20, when ice became a problem for about 20 minutes, and delayed three times and missed a day last week. Jefferson County Schools dismissed at 1 p.m. Feb. 20, delayed once and missed two days last week.
“It’s complicated and different every time,” Neill said.
Trussville City Schools has a designated weather team that consists of Neill, Administrative Assistant Sandra Vernon, Assistant Superintendent of Operations Jim Kirkland, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Beth Bruno, Transportation Coordinator Jerry Cataldo and Facilities Coordinator Barry Davis. Vernon kickstarts things by letting them all know about the potential for incoming inclement weather. Everyone then watches forecasts, and the system occasionally receives a message from the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency about what could be coming.
“When it’s just the weather team and the meteorologists, we run the roads,” said Neill, who noted that she calls the Trussville Police Department dispatch to find out road conditions. “We watch the weather, we run the roads. We make sure that the students are safe first, then we take into account where our staff either has to come in from or go to.”
Jefferson County Schools implements a similar process with Superintendent Craig Pouncey, Deputy Superintendent of Operations Yancy Morris, Transportation Director Neal Underwood and Public Information Director Nez Calhoun.
Snow still covered the trees around Hewitt-Trussville High School on Friday.
photo by Gary Lloyd
The week before last, Jefferson County Schools had two conference calls with the National Weather Service and the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency.
“They provided us with timelines and projected areas that would be affected,” Underwood said.
On Feb. 20, the EMA reported that ice was going to be a factor on roads around noon and advised schools not to dismiss. Jefferson County Schools dismissed at 1 p.m. Trussville City Schools didn’t. Neill, Kirkland and Cataldo drove Trussville roads from noon to 2:30 p.m. They were dry. At 2:45 p.m. — bus dismissal time — the powdery snow that had fallen froze to the roads. It snarled traffic in the city, and the bus that goes to the Carrington subdivision was delayed an hour so the sand truck could get in. Parents of children on that route picked up their kids. Ice on the roads was an issue for about 20 minutes.
“Weather is just one of those things,” Kirkland said.
Last week, with the threat of icy road conditions again dominating the minds of school officials, Neill had a decision to make. Where did the sand truck need to go first in case of poor road conditions? She chose Deerfoot Parkway, near Hewitt-Trussville High School.
“We want to keep all the students safe — that’s always No. 1 — but you have to look at it differently when you have student drivers,” said Neill, noting student drivers’ inexperience. “We can contain primary kids and middle school kids, but it’s hard to contain high school kids.”
When a weather event is possible, school officials are constantly monitoring meteorologists on TV, and updates from the National Weather Service and EMA.
“It’s all-consuming,” Neill said.
Snow covers the area along Deerfoot Parkway near the Clay-Chalkville High School campus last week.
photo by Gary Lloyd
It’s not all about students, though that is the No. 1 consideration. Teachers and other personnel have to drive, too, sometimes from other cities. Bus drivers may leave home for their bus at 5:45 a.m., when it’s dark and black ice on the roads isn’t visible. In the afternoons, school can’t instantly be let out because bus drivers must have time to get to their buses and parents to their homes so children don’t arrive to empty houses. Cataldo knows the trouble spots in the city, such as on Happy Hollow Road and Deerfoot Parkway.
Jefferson County Schools officials speak to principals and other employees about problem areas where they live. One day last week, communication and data collection began as early as 4 a.m.
“We want to be able to communicate as early as we can, but also we want to make the best decision for the safety of our students and employees,” Underwood said.
Neill said she doesn’t like making a call on delaying or canceling school the morning of, since parents want notice for childcare in case they have to go to work. Sometimes it’s necessary. She typically makes a call by 5:30 a.m. at the latest.
“If I can call it the night before I will,” she said.
Neill said she hasn’t heard many negative comments on making a decision the morning of as long as it’s a “good call.” Vernon advised parents to log on to www.trussvillecityschools.com and sign up for the NotifyMe service, which provides them with important updates via text messages or emails.
A TV in Vernon’s office is on a local news channel at all times, just in case.
“If we’re here, it’s on,” Vernon said.
Neill, sitting in her office, expressed a sigh of relief last Thursday, just thinking about the end of the trying week, and of the end of winter March 19.
“I’m ready for spring,” she said.
Just after Neill cracked a smile thinking about 70-degree temperatures under cloudless skies, Vernon said the National Weather Service had already reported the possibility of more wintry weather this week.
The monitoring continues.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
