Amherst, NY (WBEN) While Tuesday was relatively sunny in Amherst, where Sweet Home Schools are located in upstate New York, it was a cold day. And based on Monday's snowfall, the district decided to close schools Tuesday. It was a tightrope decision happening across the country as a deep freeze and snow settle in across the country.
And it begs the question: Should school stay open?
Superintendent Mike Ginestre says several factors come into play. "I think one of the things that happened with this event was that it was very unpredictable. We were looking at much more significant snowfall in Amherst than what was predicted. So we were taking every precautionary measure," says Ginestre, including wind chill factor and road conditions, and not just in Amherst.
"What are travel conditions around the county going to be like, and that will let us know whether our staff is going to make it in or not. We have quite a few members of our staff that live in the south towns or south of Buffalo that would have made it very difficult for their commute as well," notes Ginestre. He also consults other superintendents on what their decision will be.
While schools were closed Monday for MLK Day, snow and road conditions as well as wind chills were key in deciding to close Tuesday, according to Ginestre. "With the county being in a travel advisory situation, it goes into play in our factor of our decision. So we want to just make sure safety being the number one priority for our students, our staff, our faculty, and making sure that everybody's safe to travel," says Ginestre.
Tuesday's wind chill was a big factor as well. "We're looking at some reports that it's minus 15. I'm not sure it got down to that low, but between minus 15 and 20, we're really keeping an eye on that. We do have grades six through 12 walking to bus stops and waiting at bus stops. Now we have an app to tell them where the bus is so they don't have to wait that long, but it certainly is a factor for some of our students that are walking to their bus stop," adds Ginestre.
He says if the wind chill is minus 20 or lower, schools will close regardless of snowfall amounts.