Below are the guidelines used by Danbury Local Schools to determine School Delays and Closures. Please remember that these are just guidelines and that weather can change rapidly and can be different depending upon the part of the school district in which you reside. In many cases, a combination of current conditions and future predictions are taken into account when delay/closure decisions are made.
Closures
- Level Three Emergency – as determined by Ottawa County Sheriff.
- Winter Storm Warning – National Weather Service.
- Wind Chill Warning – National Weather Service.
- Various Poor Road Conditions – consultation with transportation supervisor, local road crews and local law enforcement.
- Sustained Very Cold Temperatures – to be evaluated along with wind chill.
- Very Dense Fog
Delays
- Poor Road Conditions – consultation with transportation supervisor, local road crews, and local law enforcement.
- Temporary High Wind Chills – minus 20 or below to be evaluated with air temperature.
- Temporary Cold Temperatures
- Fog
Specific details on what constitutes the various Advisories, Watches, and Warnings vary by state and region. The region containing Ottawa County is governed by the National Weather Service office in Cleveland, Ohio. Definitions specific to the Cleveland office are available here: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cle/office/descrip.html
For your information, this is the process used when considering closing:
- Monitor weather reports and information.
- Beginning about 4:30 a.m., the Superintendent will contact the transportation supervisor and our snow plowing service to check on road conditions in the event of snow.
- The Superintendent will also communicate with area Superintendents beginning at about 4:30 a.m. to monitor the conditions in their districts and to discuss to possibility of cancelling school. This communication is on-going throughout the morning.
- Superintendent and transportation supervisor are in consultation with local and county law enforcement.
- Typically, a final decision to cancel school or not is made by about 5:30 a.m.
- If there is a decision to cancel school, the Superintendent will begin the process of informing the community and staff. One Call Now notification is sent to the staff and community, district social media and web pages are updated, and local television and radio stations are informed.
The decision to cancel school is sometimes a difficult one for several reasons:
- Weather conditions are variable in different parts of the district due to our location on a peninsula. Conditions on the bay side can vary dramatically from the lake side.
- The condition of the roads will factor into the decision. If the roads are clear, we will attend school. The condition of the roads is often predicated on when the storm hits and its level of intensity at certain times. For example, a storm that hits at 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. is a much greater challenge for road crews than one that hits the evening before at 11:00 p.m. or midnight.
- The temperature will factor into the decision. If the temperature is too severe, then a decision to cancel school without a great deal of snow may be made.
- In addition, weather conditions will be monitored closely throughout the morning. If the severe weather is ending in a reasonable enough time for the roads to be cleared, school may not be cancelled. If the weather is supposed to become more severe throughout the day, school may be cancelled, even if the snow is limited during that early morning time.
If school has not been cancelled due to inclement weather, you can choose to keep your child home if you feel it is best. Please call them off to the respective building secretary, as usual, and we will excuse the absence.
Of course, there are many other factors that go into this decision, thereby making it a challenging one, but the final decision is made based on the best interest and safety of our students.
After School Activities
The following guidelines dictate how changes to after school activities will be made and communicated if school is cancelled due to weather:
- All after school activities (including sports games and practices) for grades PreK - 8 are cancelled.
- Changes to High School after school events (scheduled athletic contests and other performances) will be evaluated after noon and changes will be posted to our web and social media pages no later than 3:00 p. m.
- Changes to after school practices for sports and other activities will be communicated by the coach/activity leader directly to the students involved. These decisions will be make no earlier than noon to allow a realistic assesment of conditions to be performed. Students and parents are encouraged to comminicate with coaches ahead of time to determine what method will use to communicate weather-related practice changes.