McDermott explains weather decisions at school board

Making decisions that affect the entire school district, such as when to hold a two-hour late start or cancel school for the day because of weather conditions, is no easy task.

Creston Community School District Superintendent Steve McDermott gave the CCSD Board of Directors some insight into his decision-making process for those calls during Monday’s regular board meeting.

McDermott used today’s looming decision as an example. He would eventually make the call to have a two-hour late start.

McDermott detailed how he had been on the phone earlier in the evening with several other area superintendents and CCSD Transportation Director Bob Beatty.

At the time of the school board meeting, McDermott reported CCSD was about the only school in the area that had not called for a two-hour late start yet.

“It will not be any warmer at 10 o’clock in the morning than it will be at 7 o’clock in the morning,” McDermott said. “There will be a little bit more daylight. We warm buses up and have them at those town stops so kids can get on a warm bus. If you late start, you have many kids that are home by themselves for two extra hours unsupervised. There are a lot of factors.”

McDermott said during the meeting it looked like the roads within the district should be OK in the morning.

“We also have a lot of kids that drive to school still,” Board Member Sharon Snodgrass said.

McDermott said the winds would play an important factor in his decision.

“If that wind blows and gets us on down to 30-below wind chill, OK, king’s X,” McDermott said. “But when you’re at 15, 20-below, the wind’s blowing 15 mph, it’s a judgment call. We want to be safe. It’s all part of doing business in school.”

At 8 a.m., the temperature in Creston was -4 degrees with a wind chill of -27 degrees thanks to the northwest wind of 18 mph.

All but nine counties in the state – all of which were located in the northeast corner of the state – were in a wind chill warning until noon. Wind chill warnings are put into effect when wind chills are between -20 and -40 degrees.

Those conditions ultimately led to the decision to start school two hours late this morning.

“It used to be that you late-started because you had trouble with school buses and that kind of thing,” McDermott said.

But, with the construction of the new bus barn, CCSD’s bus fleet has largely avoided any issues because of the cold weather.

“We have a better bus barn situation than a lot of schools,” said Board Member Galen Zumbach. “It makes a big difference.”

“Most schools have their buses parked outside all the time,” said Board President Don Gee.

McDermott noted the engine blocks are warmer and the buses have additives in the fuel to keep the diesel from gelling up.

“We don’t try to be the tough guy on the block with these weather calls. We just try to be safe,” McDermott said. “We haven’t had many complaints or anything like that, but it is tricky. You do have to watch it when everybody goes one way and you’re going another. You have to be careful with that.”