Who gets a snow day in Colorado when winter storms roll in? For one school district, the decision has gotten more challenging
Who gets a snow day? That's the question the Boulder Valley School District has to answer every winter. And with schools in Boulder County's lower elevations plus higher up in the Colorado foothills, there's a lot that goes into it.
One of the first people to drive the roads each winter and influence those decisions is BVSD's Nederland Transportation Supervisor Monte Miles. As he drives the roads before dawn, he's making sure school buses can get through the mountain roads and kids can get to school safely.
"There are a lot of students. There's a lot of families depending on us making the right decision," Miles said.
BVSD is one of the largest school districts in Colorado and each decision about closures or bus routes can impact thousands of kids, across more than 50 schools.
"When we've been picking up elevation now for a few minutes, and it starts getting colder, more snow, more wind," Miles explained, "We could be getting an inch here, they could have 4 to 6 there."
That difference, between the city, and the mountains, means BVSD administrators like Rob Price have a lot of decisions to make early enough for parents to make a plan.
"When I think of the analogy, we're placing our bet before the football game starts, others get a place their bet in the fourth quarter. We're not that lucky. We have to place our bet early," Price said.
And as much as some students may wish, that bet doesn't always mean a snow day for everyone, even among more active weather patterns.
"We can close mountain schools, for example, and keep our other schools open. We can do two-hour delays in some parts of the district and not other parts. But I think the change in the weather patterns have increased the complexity of what we are seeing and making the decisions even more challenging," Price explained.
Now as we approach days where snow may bury school buses, or fill mountain roads, parents in BVSD may be able to take some comfort, knowing people like Miles are driving the roads first.
"You want to see what's going on out there, because, you know, in a small community, these are my neighbors, my neighbors' kids, you know, we want to make the right decision for them," Miles said.
BVSD also has a policy that anytime there is a concern about the weather, parents have the option to keep their child home from school that day, and that absence will be excused.
Price also emphasized the district's plan to "protect" snow days, saying they don't plan to give kids virtual class time or extra homework when schools are closed for snow.
