Do you think schools should close in extreme cold??

[always quiet]

When the weather is extremely cold, with wind chills down below 0, do you think that schools should close?

 

[DoeWDW]

My kids don't HAVE a bus stop! They walk 1.5 miles to school.

In PA, the school district only has to provide a bus if an elementary student is more than 1 mile from school and if a secondary student is more than 2 miles from school.

If it's that cold, they should close. But then I think the schools should start earlier in August and have more snow makeup days built into the schedule so that closing during the winter doesn't mean adding days onto the end of the school year.

 

[shortbun]

Today in a 9 degree windchill, kids showed up at bus stops
in hooded sweatshirts!!! When windchill goes below -10,
schools should consider closing. Shorter days make it hard to
get anything done and windchill often keeps the temp very low
in the winter. In big suburban schools, many children depend on
the schools for breakfast and lunch. Parents are too poor to
make up for the loss in free meals for their kids. That's why
our school district does not close. We bus drivers listen closely
and cover each other's kids if we hear a bus is running very late
and kids are standing outside. We take the kids unless the roads
are too dangerous to drive. I have given children my scarves, gloves, hats and earmuffs. I have mysteriously dropped coats
on porches where I know the kids have inadequate winter apparel. Teachers do the same thing. I hand down my son's
pants, sweatshirts and coats to kids on my bus. Other bus drivers do the same. In our district, kids must live 2 miles to
be bused. Time to go back to work. So much to consider.

 

[nattiecece]

I was thinking the same thing this morning... here in MA tomorrow morning the wind chill is supposed to be -30 to -40 breaking 85 year old cold records. I sure wouldn't want to be waiting for the bus in those temps!! And what if the bus breaks down..these kids will be ice cubes in minutes! I wonder how they deal with these problems in Alaska and the Arctic??

 

[CamColt]

This is interesting. I never even thought of it until this morning when my neighbor mentioned she thought that schools would be closed tomorrow. As Im watching the noon news here, I see a few public schools in our area, and some private ones have cancelled already for tomorrow.
In our situation, I dont feel its necessary. As long as the bus is on time we usually dont wait more than 5 minutes. Plus, the past week 1 mother has been taking her car to the bus stop, so the kids all pile in there. Worst case, I could drive DS. But I know others dont have such an easy situation, so Im sort of torn on my opinion.

 

[pumba]

that was without the wind chill figured in........our low at the time the kids would go to school was 18 below zero and wind that was horrible.......I do think for some areas the no school would be a good idea.......

 

[MAC3]

I thought of it too this morning as I hated getting my DD out of bed for school. So this morning I would have said yes but in rethinking it, we would already have taken at least 7 days off this year due to the bitter cold.

That makes them get out of school later in the year. I don't think I'd like that too much.

Lisa

 

[caseylouandtyler2]

I'm torn.
I drive my DD to school. The bus does not come up my street and we are supposed to walk down to a very busy road. She's only 5 and its a 45 min. bus ride, so I just drive.
If she did take the bus, I would probably drive her in this weather anyway. When we see the busses they all have frost covered windows. I can't see how they can be very warm. But to cancel school. I don't know.

 

[*Fantasia*]

Of course! If I was the school board, I would close the school anything that is below 30! I think all the the States in the North should be shut down and everyone should move South during winter. Everyone goes down for Disney/Universal for a long winter vacation. Then spring comes, everyone goes back North to their States. Sounds good huh?!

 

[ZachnElli]

I grew up in Iowa and in Dec 1989, when I was a senior in high school, they closed schools for 2 days because it was so cold. It was -20 to -25 degrees and that is not including windchill! There was no snow or ice just the bitter cold. It was right before Christmas break and it was the year we flew to Hawaii to be with my brother who was stationed there in the Navy. It was the best year to go to Hawaii!

 

[always quiet]

The temp here tomorrow is supposed to remain frigid with wind chills of -15!! When the weather forecasters say that frost bite can start in as little as 15 minutes with temps that low, it is really hard, as a parent, to send the kids out in it!

 

[SandiH]

on what your typical winter time temperatures are and whether the schools and community are prepared for it.

Last week in Washington State, we had a record low of -19 (and that wasn't without wind chills) We started school on time and definately shouldn't have. The buses were not prepared - many had frozen parts, the diesel froze on some in route, etc. It was a mess! Most of our kids aren't prepared clothing wise for such cold temps. Needless to say, we were on a dealy the next day!

Now in the upper plains states where it gets frigid cold every year - they are prepared for that. I'm sure they have equipment for the vehciles, better road prep to keep the roads safe and the people have appropriate winter clothing for such weather - they are more used to it.

So, if you're used to the weather, prepared and have the proper equipment, I see no problem with school running as scheduled. If you aren't prepared, don't have proper equipment - then by no means should children be out in it and put at risk.

Just my humble opinions.

 

[Margie J]

I don't have kids but my answer was YES.

Many kids either walk to school or have to wait for a bus. In extreme temperatures there is a real risk of frostbite. NOBODY should be outside in those temperatures unless it is an emergency.

Not all kids can be driven to school by their parents or a guardian either.

Then there is the issue of the school building itself. It's very taxing on the systems to keep the heat and water running properly. Homes and office buildings are having problems with frozen pipes. What if the same thing happens in a school. Not a good situation for anyone.

 

[peg2001]

Originally posted by SandiH
on what your typical winter time temperatures are and whether the schools and community are prepared for it.

Now in the upper plains states where it gets frigid cold every year - they are prepared for that. I'm sure they have equipment for the vehciles, better road prep to keep the roads safe and the people have appropriate winter clothing for such weather - they are more used to it.

ITA. I grew up in Sioux Falls, SD. Frigidly cold temps well below zero were TYPICAL much of the winter. There is no way we could have made up enough days in the summer if they closed schools due to cold.

And yes, I waited at a bus stop. We dressed appropriately (including parkas that extended well past our face) and still froze our tails off. Builds character.

Peggy

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

Originally posted by ZachnElli
I grew up in Iowa and in Dec 1989, when I was a senior in high school, they closed schools for 2 days because it was so cold. It was -20 to -25 degrees and that is not including windchill! There was no snow or ice just the bitter cold. It was right before Christmas break and it was the year we flew to Hawaii to be with my brother who was stationed there in the Navy. It was the best year to go to Hawaii!

I remember that! I was in college and they certainly did not cancel our classes! LOL!

There is actually a temp (I don't remember what it is) where it is so cold that our buses will not even start, so school is canceled.

 

[Mskanga]

I have no problem sending our kids to school in the bitter cold, as long as the school is not having a problem with their heating system. If it is really cold, I don't rely on the bus, I take them myself , but I do believe that on days like that it should be up to the parents discretion to send the kids or not without being penalized, some parents don't have a car to take them in, and waiting at the bus stop for a long period of time in this kind of cold is just not worth it. Most of the times our school district closes because they don't want to deal with problems like that and have to track down parents if they have early dismissals.

 

[grinningghost]

Allow me to be the bad guy - but NO!

I went to the same school district as DD and our schools NEVER closed because of the cold. In fact, I can just hear our parents back then if we complained about school being open when it was freezing - they would have said "well you can just forget about whining, because the schools aren't going to close because of cold".

We're raising a generation of future wimps. What, are these kids going to stay home from work on a frigid day? Of course it will be much too cold to walk to the car or the bus stop - better stay home.

As long as the kids are dressed for the weather, they will get to a warm school and survive. Case closed.

 

[zulaya]

Just for perspective, our schools don't close for cold weather OR snow unless the roads are not plowed to where the busses can't get to the kids. Already this year, we have had a couple mornings with -25 to -35 windchills. And we are walkers. Now those days, I drove the 3 blocks to school with my kids.

As long as the school is warm, they should go.

 

[elgerber]

I do think they should, but for really extreme cold. The original question said for windchills below 0. Here in MN that is normal for winter weather. We have had schools close once, perhaps twice that I can recall, but the air temps were around the -30 range without the windchill. At that time, I thought it was justified.

Erika

 

[emmy]

Our schools are cancelled for tomorrow, part of the thinking was to make it a 4 day weekend to conserve on the fuel budgets, also half of our buses are out of service due to the cold- they either have no heat , no fuel( due to the fuel lines freezing up at our busyard) or have just died this week. We live in a regional school system where all kids are eligable for busing , so the bus situation probably had a lot to do with the decision to close.