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Officials Discuss What Goes Into Their Decisions
Rockbridge County Superintendent of Schools Phillip Thompson and Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Randy Walters took the occasion of January’s School Board meeting to describe their decision-making process for closing schools during winter weather.
“The thing I want everyone to understand,” said Thompson, “is that we always err on the side of caution.”
While delays or closures prioritize safety, they also take into account the school calendar and hours built into the year for weather-related disruptions.
In an email to The News Gazette, Walters explained, “We had 10 school days built in this year. We have four remaining. Keep in mind, when we operate on a two-hour delay, we have to subtract those hours from the total.”
In addition to the difficulty of balancing safety with hours in school, Walters gave special recognition to the job done by the bus drivers, who across the county, cover 65 different routes.
After the School Board meeting, Walters shared with The News-Gazette the text of a 2022 newsletter he sent to Rockbridge County’s bus drivers on this topic.
In the newsletter, Walters explained the multi-step process the district undertakes when deciding to close or delay schools, emphasizing that safety is always the top priority. “Decisions are always made in the interest of student, staff, and driver safety,” Walters wrote.
Walters detailed the intensive effort that begins long before the anticipated weather event. “I monitor the forecast and track changes in each of the weather models,” he wrote. As the event draws closer, Walters consults with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, noting that while advancements in technology have improved forecasting, challenges remain due to the county’s geography. “We are surrounded by mountains, and elevation levels vary tremendously across our county. Both the mountains and the changes in elevation greatly impact our weather,” he explained.
The decision-making process begins in earnest at 4:30 a.m. on the day of the weather event, when Walters participates in a conference call with the National Weather Service. “During the months of November through March, the National Weather Service holds daily weather briefings each morning at 4:30 am,” he noted. From there, Walters reaches out to multiple sources for updates, including the Rockbridge County sheriff’s office, local VDOT area supervisors, and even plow drivers. Walters also consults with transportation directors from neighboring counties and several local bus drivers to get a comprehensive picture of road conditions.
All of this information is then passed along to Thompson, with whom the final decision is made. Walters acknowledged that despite these efforts, forecasting isn’t foolproof. “There are times where the forecast changes or predictions were not accurate and the roads are not as safe as the provided information led us to believe,” he wrote.
The goal is to make the decision to close or delay schools by 5 or 5:30 a.m., Walters explained, in order to provide sufficient time for bus drivers and cafeteria workers, who often begin their workday around 6 a.m.
“Rarely are these decisions easy,” Walters concluded.
