Minnesota School Districts Grapple With Making The 'Snow Day' Call
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- With the looming snow storm, many Twin Cities schools started making decisions Thursday on whether or not they will close Friday.
Some schools in more rural areas have already declared Friday a snow day, but other schools are still on the fence.
Keith Jacobus, the superintendent of South Washington County School District, is one of many school leaders who tuned into the NOAA weather update this afternoon. The most important take away from this update is that the snow is not expected to move into the Twin Cities until noon.
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"This one feels like the timing is going to be much better for decision making … and certainly not affect classes," Jacobus said.
He has been the superintendent for the last eight years. It's his job to make the final snow day decision.
"Yeah, I wish it wasn't me, but it is me," Jacobus said.
He says it's a difficult one to make because you can't please everyone.
"If you stay open, some folks believe that it would be better if you close. If you close, it disrupts so many things they feel like you should be open," he said.
Although classes at schools in the Woodbury and Cottage Grove area will likely resume as usual on Friday, everything after school and on Saturday is at risk of cancellation.
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"We will need to make a decision in the afternoon on how the weather has shaped up, how the snow has actually come in and if the roads will be safe to travel Friday night," he said.
All school districts plan and react to snow storms differently depending on students' needs and their commutes. But all districts have the same goal in mind.
"Ultimately, it's can we pick kids up and safely get them to school. And if we can, we want to be open," Jacobus said.
Almost all schools will contact parents and students in multiple ways: text, phone call and email.
Here at WCCO, we will also be pushing out school closures on air and online.
Several districts WCCO reached out to Thursday said they will make the call by 9:30 p.m. Thursday or 5:30 a.m. Friday, so don't stay awake all night waiting for that call.
