Who makes the decision to close schools due to inclement weather?
The superintendent makes the decision with a recommendation from the school system’s director of Transportation. Upon what is the decision based? The director of Transportation begins to assess inclement weather conditions at 3 a.m. He checks e-mail reports from Accuweather Snow Warning Service, a service contracted by the school system, and reviews different weather websites to observe the path of storms in the area. He can also check the temperature at 18 different weather stations, which are based at the Central Office and various schools throughout the county. If the reported conditions are of concern, the Transportation director and his crew are on the streets by 3:30 a.m. For one hour, they travel roads in their assigned areas, especially through known trouble spots. They also look to see how the county and state road departments are responding to the weather. The Transportation director may also call the police department to get their assessment of the conditions, and then check
