Minnesota Governor cancels all public schools on Monday

[Colleen27]

I wonder what has changed over the years? We seem to be far more inclined to close down schools, businesses and city services now than in years and decades past.
My mom lived in in rural Saskatchewan until she was an adult, then worked in Winnipeg and Minneapolis for years and she never recalled schools or businesses or government services being closed down due to weather. A lot of people showed up late, but they got there.

Around here it feels like just the opposite. Unless it is a blow-off day to start with (they cancelled on the day before Christmas break for a minor weather issue) they're much LESS likely to close than in the past. I think that's for two reasons - the larger number of dual-income and single-parent homes that are left scrambling when schools close, and the stricter rules on making up snow days in excess of the built-in cushion.

I hope we'll be closed Monday. -20 is the rough rule of thumb the district uses, and it'll probably be colder than that both Monday and Tuesday mornings, plus we're supposed to be in for 6-10" of snow between now and the arrival of that cold. We're in a small town district where the "town" kids almost all walk and the "country" kids often have long waits at the bus stop because of the unpredictability of driving miles of back roads that may or may not have been plowed.

This winter has been nothing short of brutal so far. I spent half of December traveling and still I'm sick of the cold.

 

[jodifla]

I spent K through 2nd grade in rural Minnesota in the 1960s, and I clearly remember being huddled around the radio waiting to hear if we had a snow day.
We had several of them. It was a similar issue to now -- it wasn't safe for the buses to be on the road.

 

[SamRoc]

My dd is there now visiting her friend from college for New Years. She is used to cold but not that cold. Flying home tomorrow, but we still have alot of flight delays here. She said she should have visited a friend that was from Florida!

 

[MNdisneymom]

My (now) DH and I are Oles! Small world. We both grew up in MN and still have family there. We were abroad during the Halloween storm, but had enough friends in Northfield to know that school went on, although I'm sure some Professors cancelled classes.

Hey, I'm an Ole from the same era--I was on campus during the Halloween blizzard. I remember looking out the classroom window (class in the old science building) in the morning and seeing the snow start, and thinking that Halloween was awfully early for snow….

We live in MN , but my son was out in MA visiting cousins with his dad over the holiday. So glad to be here--I'd much rather have the cold than all of that snow!

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

We live in SE Wisconsin and our school district just announced it will be closed on Monday. I can't imagine going to the Packer game on Sunday. We turned down tickets. As much as I love the game, I am a much happier fan sitting on my nice warm couch

We're season ticket holders and didn't choose to buy the playoff tix. I'm REALLY glad. I too am completely happy watching the game from the comfort of our warm living room!

 

[tvguy]

Around here it feels like just the opposite. Unless it is a blow-off day to start with (they cancelled on the day before Christmas break for a minor weather issue) they're much LESS likely to close than in the past. I think that's for two reasons - the larger number of dual-income and single-parent homes that are left scrambling when schools close, and the stricter rules on making up snow days in excess of the built-in cushion.

I hope we'll be closed Monday. -20 is the rough rule of thumb the district uses, and it'll probably be colder than that both Monday and Tuesday mornings, plus we're supposed to be in for 6-10" of snow between now and the arrival of that cold. We're in a small town district where the "town" kids almost all walk and the "country" kids often have long waits at the bus stop because of the unpredictability of driving miles of back roads that may or may not have been plowed.

This winter has been nothing short of brutal so far. I spent half of December traveling and still I'm sick of the cold.

You do bring up a great point. DW and I worked opposite shifts when our kids were small to avoid daycare issues, but I just don't know how parents manage. Just in the last 10 years the district we live in has expanded Thanksgiving break from Thursday and Friday to the entire week, and Presidents day is now President's week off. Throw in that every Thursday is a Noon dismissal, I don't how parents juggle child care and work.

The weather has been interesting. We're dealing with record highs, no rain, no water and water rationing about to start. DW is out working in the yard, and I have to go out and cut the lawn......in JANUARY. Only high point, California shattered all records for solar generated electricity last week.

How about we send you some cheap solar electricity to heat your house, and you send us some water?

 

[Colleen27]

You do bring up a great point. DW and I worked opposite shifts when our kids were small to avoid daycare issues, but I just don't know how parents manage. Just in the last 10 years the district we live in has expanded Thanksgiving break from Thursday and Friday to the entire week, and Presidents day is now President's week off. Throw in that every Thursday is a Noon dismissal, I don't how parents juggle child care and work.

The weather has been interesting. We're dealing with record highs, no rain, no water and water rationing about to start. DW is out working in the yard, and I have to go out and cut the lawn......in JANUARY. Only high point, California shattered all records for solar generated electricity last week.

How about we send you some cheap solar electricity to heat your house, and you send us some water?

I wish we could but we don't have water to spare either. Our lake levels have been near historic lows the last few seasons, to a point that it is having a serious impact on the pleasure boating that is a big part of our area's economy. I'm hoping that'll be the bright side of this ridiculous winter - enough snow to at least start to reverse the trend of falling water levels in the lake and river. We're already more than a foot ahead of seasonal norms, and now they're saying we could see another foot of snow from tomorrow's storm.

I don't know how working parents do it either. I've been an at-home parent for most of my kids' lives so we have it covered, but I remember my mom having a hard time figuring out care over breaks and on snow days when I was small. We do have a couple of neighbor kids who come over here when school is cancelled or if they need to close early for whatever reason, but while I'm happy to have them on snow days and those one-off half-days that make so little sense to me, we're too on the go on school breaks to offer to be anyone's backup plan.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

They think they do. When I went to San Francisco in JULY for the bar exam, my husband and I were quite amused to see people walking around in parkas and winter coats. Really.
It is true that your "perception" of what is cold depends on where you live and for how long. Honestly, I feel more sorry for people in Atlanta dealing with subzero windchills (predicted for next week) than us in Minnesota. Our houses and clothing are built for this weather. There's are not.

Apparently, you've never heard the famous quote from Mark Twain, "The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco."

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

I'm pretty sure the kids in Cali don't have to worry about life-threatening wind chills.

Born and raised in So. CA. Never had a day off that I can remember. My kids had two days off back about 10 years ago due to a huge fire that surrounded our city. Schools were closed for the two days due to ash and smoke. I am sure we will never have days like the original poster talked about. I can't even imagine temperatures below 40 ish... We are very spoiled here.

 

[NEDisneyFans]

They think they do. When I went to San Francisco in JULY for the bar exam, my husband and I were quite amused to see people walking around in parkas and winter coats. Really.

It is true that your "perception" of what is cold depends on where you live and for how long. Honestly, I feel more sorry for people in Atlanta dealing with subzero windchills (predicted for next week) than us in Minnesota. Our houses and clothing are built for this weather. There's are not.

I grew up in San Francisco, and I there was an oft repeated quote attributed to Mark Twain: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

Between the cold off the water, the fog, and the winds, that cold will bite right through you. Brrrrrrrrr

I live in New England now, and 50 degrees in SF feels WAY colder than 40 degrees in Boston!

 

[Poohforyou]

You do bring up a great point. DW and I worked opposite shifts when our kids were small to avoid daycare issues, but I just don't know how parents manage. Just in the last 10 years the district we live in has expanded Thanksgiving break from Thursday and Friday to the entire week, and Presidents day is now President's week off. Throw in that every Thursday is a Noon dismissal, I don't how parents juggle child care and work.

The weather has been interesting. We're dealing with record highs, no rain, no water and water rationing about to start. DW is out working in the yard, and I have to go out and cut the lawn......in JANUARY. Only high point, California shattered all records for solar generated electricity last week.

How about we send you some cheap solar electricity to heat your house, and you send us some water?

When both parents work and have little kids in school and/or daycare most vacation/personal days are used for school holidays and illness. I'm fortunate that I can work from home often but many parents don't have that. Around here lots of places run camps during all school breaks which helps. Many of my sahm friends have been very kind in offering snow day childcare to those of us that work.

My child is now in high school so it's a non-issue finally for us. Actually it's been a non-issue for a few years.

 

[jodifla]

With snow days and working parents, there's a lot of juggling going on. I have one day that I absolutely need to be in the office, but the other days, I can actually work from home as I have the company computer system loaded on my computer. My husband also can often do his work from home as well, but they often want him to do double-duty on a job that's best done from the office.

My company is planning to have most people work remotely tomorrow.


Beyond our flexible work, we had Grandma near by, and other parents we can swap off with. We also have a couple babysitters who are often available on short notice. One stepped up last Thursday, texting me when she heard school was closed.

And one day I brought my son into the office. He was there a good 9 hours. Thank goodness for the iPad!

 

[Minnesota!]

we do not have backups. If school is closed unexpectedly, one of us is home. I get just about 7 weeks a year off, husband gets 3 or 4, I can't remember. We rotate who is off when the kids are, and whose workload allows it.

 

[tvguy]

we do not have backups. If school is closed unexpectedly, one of us is home. I get just about 7 weeks a year off, husband gets 3 or 4, I can't remember. We rotate who is off when the kids are, and whose workload allows it.

7 weeks? That is amazing for someone young enough to have school aged children to have earned that much time off at work. A lot of folks only get 2 weeks.

We were lucky not only with working opposite shifts, but with having one grandmother in town who was delighted (and I do mean delighted) to watch the kids if there was a problem. She retired before we had kids, so it was something she looked forward to. She had an amazing bond with both my kids because of this , and I swear it kept her young. When she was 85 I finally had to suggest that maybe she should stop trying to wrestle with my adult, 6'6" 230 pound son. Clearly he always "let" her win, but he admitted, she was a whole lot stronger than he expected an 85 year old to be.

 

[JanaDee]

Our district just cancelled for tomorrow.

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

Our district just cancelled for tomorrow.

Ours too! Pretty much all of NE Wisconsin.

 

[Minnesota!]

7 weeks? That is amazing for someone young enough to have school aged children to have earned that much time off at work. A lot of folks only get 2 weeks.

We were lucky not only with working opposite shifts, but with having one grandmother in town who was delighted (and I do mean delighted) to watch the kids if there was a problem. She retired before we had kids, so it was something she looked forward to. She had an amazing bond with both my kids because of this , and I swear it kept her young. When she was 85 I finally had to suggest that maybe she should stop trying to wrestle with my adult, 6'6" 230 pound son. Clearly he always "let" her win, but he admitted, she was a whole lot stronger than he expected an 85 year old to be.

I am pretty lucky! You start out with 4 weeks at my company. 2 weeks of vacation, 2 weeks of personal. You earn a day a vacation each year you are there, up to year 14 or 15. You then sit at 4 weeks vacation until year 25. and can accrue/carry over up to 3 weeks of personal. I have been there going on 17 years and so I have 4 weeks vacation, 2 weeks personal, and some days I am carrying over. I love it!

 

[mrsv98]

Ours too! Pretty much all of NE Wisconsin.

Count us in. We are in the NW burbs of Chicago and the district's in our area all falling in line now. The city itself is having quite an issue. CPS had said school will be open tomorrow but the teachers union is strongly objecting. For the city it really is a balancing act, so many kids get two meals a day from school plus the schools are warm...so which decision is right?

 

[mhsjax]

They think they do. When I went to San Francisco in JULY for the bar exam, my husband and I were quite amused to see people walking around in parkas and winter coats. Really.

It is true that your "perception" of what is cold depends on where you live and for how long. Honestly, I feel more sorry for people in Atlanta dealing with subzero windchills (predicted for next week) than us in Minnesota. Our houses and clothing are built for this weather. There's are not.

I am in Northeast Florida and they say our wind chill is going to be 5. Are you kidding me? Just exactly what does that feel like, we aren't used to this craziness. lol

 

[JanaDee]

Count us in. We are in the NW burbs of Chicago and the district's in our area all falling in line now. The city itself is having quite an issue. CPS had said school will be open tomorrow but the teachers union is strongly objecting. For the city it really is a balancing act, so many kids get two meals a day from school plus the schools are warm...so which decision is right?

That is a hard decision.