SPOKANE, Wash – It's a
tough call for any school district to make this time of year, and sometimes the
wrong call is made.
That's what the
Spokane Public Schools says happened Monday morning, when nearly 7 inches of
snow fell across the metro area – but the forecast called for
less
"We were taken a bit
by surprise," said spokesperson Terren Roloff.
"We did go out this morning around 5:00 a.m. and check for the traffic
conditions, and felt that we could get through the morning fairly easily, and in
fact, that wasn't the case."
That's because the
weather continued to get worse after that call was made – and after the busses
had already left. About half the busses
ended up needing to put on chains, but still, 20 of them got stuck, and 6 were
in minor accidents.
Nobody was hurt, but
some students had to wait out in the snow a very long
time.
"Unfortunately we had
some students that had to wait about an hour and a half," Roloff added. "Most of them weren't that long of a wait,
but yes, it was a difficult morning for all of us, and we feel badly for those
kids that had to do that."
Many parents were
upset over the issue, including some who thought school should have been
cancelled in Coeur D'Alene.
While it was in
several smaller rural districts, there is no hard and fast rule as far as how
much snow will force a delay or closure – it all depends on the conditions, and
the timing.
A good rule of thumb
is, if you don't feel like your child can get to school safely, keep him or her
home for the day.
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