Spring-Ford Facing Rough Commute After Not Closing Early

ROYERSFORD, PA — The Spring-Ford Area School District's students and employees face a challenging commute Thursday afternoon after making the decision to not shut down early.

Spring-Ford was the only Montgomery County public school district to not dismiss early. All nearby Chester County public districts dismissed early as well. Most districts made the call in the early to mid-morning hours, while schools like Phoenixville and West Chester held out until closer to 11 a.m. to make the call.

Spring-Ford, however, only canceled their afternoon kindergarten. At 2 p.m., they made the call to cancel after school and evening activities (parent-teacher conferences were re-scheduled for the evening of Nov. 29).

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The decision caused an uproar from some parents and alumni on social media who said the choice had placed students and staff in danger, as they will be driving home following several hours of accumulation.

"The safety of our children was supposedly used in the decision making process but I struggle to see how that could possibly be accurate when they are the only school district anywhere in the surrounding area to not dismiss," Spring-Ford parent Jasmine Kissling, whose son goes to Limerick Elementary, told Patch. "Shame on this decision. "

Kissling said she went to pick up her son at 1:30 p.m. due to rapidly deteroriating road conditions. She said she was relieved she made that call.

In a statement addressing the decision, the school district said that forecasters were originally predicting the bulk of the storm to hit at the same time as students would be getting out for a potential early dismissal.

"Please understand that we make the decision to open or close the schools in bad weather based on an analysis of many factors," the district said. "The decision to remain safely in school during this time and dismiss at the normal time was made with the goal of keeping students and staff safe."

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Multiple parents, however, said the decision put their children in more danger, with especially young students spending hours on delayed buses to get home. Kisssling said it was a "a blatant disregard of many factors."

Along with Phoenixville and West Chester, all nearby Chester County districts closed early as well, including Owen J. Roberts, Tredyffrin-Easttown, Great Valley, and more. Nearby, Norristown, Perkiomen Valley, Pottstown, Pottsgrove, Boyertown, Upper Merion — all had an early dismissal.

Heavy delays are anticipated as Spring-Ford begins to let out.

Are you a parent, student, or staff member? What do you think of the call? Let us know, email justin.heinze@patch.com.

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