Inclement Weather Procedures from ….Superintendent Jim D. Rollins

With winter ahead of us, and with occasional snowy or icy road conditions being an expected part of winter weather, I want to remind our Springdale School District students and their parents what our policies and procedures are regarding the closing of school because of the weather.

During times of inclement weather, we try to make a decision by 6 a.m. about whether to close school. In making that decision, we must consider the welfare of all of our students — those who are transported by bus and those who are not transported — and the hazards involved in traveling on snow or ice. The decision is not always an easy or an obvious one to make; sometimes the major highways and heavily traveled city streets are clear while the rural roads on our bus routes are snow-covered or ice-covered. We know that regardless of the decision we make, we will inconvenience some patrons.

The following plan is utilized as we make our decision about whether to hold or to close school:

* The Superintendent and other designated staff members check with the Arkansas State Police and our local police department to obtain information on road/street/highway conditions. We also confer with representatives of the Fayetteville and Rogers school districts to share information about conditions.

* The Superintendent and other designated staff members travel the roads, streets and highways very early in the morning to determine firsthand what their conditions are.

* The Superintendent and other designated staff members confer with our transportation supervisor to seek his advice as to whether the buses should run.

* A decision is then made by 6 a.m. to open or close school. That decision is made known to the public through announcements on our area radio and television stations.

Occasionally our buses will run but certain buses, because of existing road conditions, will not be able to complete certain portions of their routes. Safety of our students is our primary concern, and our bus drivers are expected to use prudence and discretion when they encounter unsafe road conditions.

If our students are in school and our bus drivers have already left the transportation department when inclement weather strikes, we are not able to close the schools and run the buses again on short notice. If it becomes necessary during the school day to dismiss school early, the transportation supervisor must have approximately 1 1/2 hour’s notice to call the bus drivers back in.

Parents and students, I ask that you please listen to our local radio or television channels for the announcement of school closings instead of calling your school or the administration office; you may also call the district information line.  The district’s information line is 750-8825.