What Goes Into Making A Decision to Cancel School During Snow Season

The following is a press release from the Framingham Public Schools’ new public information officer Justin Martin.

Just as every snowflake is unique unto itself, so too is the algorithm of considerations when deciding whether to hold or cancel school in the face of a winter storm.

Our snow storm decision making process typically begins around 3:30 a.m. with Rick Gallagher, the Director of Transportation for the Framingham Public Schools. He drives around town on both the major highways - like Route 9 - and the side streets and back roads. He’s looking at intersections, sidewalks, crossing guard stations, bus stops, as well as the school parking lots and the entrances and exits to school buildings.

All the while, Mr. Gallagher is in constant communication with the Department of Public Works and the Framingham Police Department, and multiple times with Matt Torti, the director of building and grounds for the Framingham Public Schools.

Then, usually between 4:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. Mr. Gallagher will call the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Stacy Scott, to update him on what he’s found on our streets.

Dr. Scott will have spent the last 30 to 45 minutes or so monitoring weather through news outlets and forecasts on The Weather Channel and from local meteorologists in Boston.

Dr. Scott will check in with others during this time - including Chief Operating Officer Ed Gotgart, Chief Academic Officer Sonia Diaz, and Human Resources Officer Paula Ceglowski - and get their input when making the determination about whether to hold or cancel school for the day.

With all available reports and considerations, Dr. Scott then makes the decision to keep schools open or to close for the day. This decision is generally made between 5 and 5:30 a.m.

During this time, there are levels of questions that we try to answer:

1. Are roads passable and sidewalks clear?

2. Will the town be able to plow out our bus lots?

3. Will the police department’s crossing guards be deployed?

4. Will our school building lots, entrances, and emergency exits be clear?

5. What is weather forecast for next 8-10 hours. How much more snow will fall? Is the wind chill going to be a factor?

Based on the answers to these questions, we then ask ourselves “Are our students and staff going to be able to safely get to and from home?” If and when we make the decision to close schools, we use an automated phone notification system that sends out a message at 5:30 to all principals, then at 6 a.m. to parents, families, and everyone else.

WHAT ABOUT WEEKEND EVENTS?
If weekend events are canceled due to inclement weather and the storm winds up not being severe and we are able to allow safe passage and parking, then we will recommend that the weekend events be reinstated to operate as planned, or in some cases after a delay.

SO WHY DIDN’T WE OPEN SCHOOLS ON THURSDAY, JAN 29TH?

With major snow storms, the Town of Framingham’s Department of Public Works has priorities that dictate which roads to clear first. The order is as follows:

1. Public safety is first. Access to nursing homes, hospitals, police stations, and fire departments is paramount.

2. Commercial and industrial areas - can people get to work?

3. General traffic areas.

4. Side roads.

5. Schools.

Last Thursday, after conferring with our facilities staff, town safety officials, and the Department of Public Works, Dr. Scott opted to err on the side of caution and kept schools closed Thursday. The decision was based solely on the safety and well being of our students, many of whom use the sidewalks and crossing guard stations to get to school each day.

Our town’s Public Works Department and our own building and grounds staff did an admirable job in dealing with such a significant snowfall of Monday and Tuesday.

They simply needed more time to ensure our sidewalks and streets were clear and safe for our students and that snow removal at all of our schools, including entryways and emergency exits was completed before students could return.

We couldn’t guarantee that on Wednesday afternoon and thus decided to close schools Thursday.

Safety of our students will always be our first priority.

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Justin Martin is Public Information Officer for the Framingham Public Schools. He can be reached at jmartin@framingham.k12.ma.us