Middle Tennessee Storms: Williamson County Schools Director Apologizes For Failing To Delay School Day

FRANKLIN, TN — Several school districts across Middle Tennessee delayed or cancelled class ahead of Wednesday's storms, but Williamson County, where a tornado may have touched down around 7 a.m., was not one of them.

The district's director, Mike Looney, issued an apology.

"I apologize for my decision not to delay school this morning. Key personnel had monitored the storm's track for the past several days. We expected it to arrive later this morning during the school day," he wrote. "Yesterday, we cancelled today's field trips in anticipation of the storm. We are reviewing our communication protocols with emergency management officials to determine how we can make timely decisions in advance of operating our first bus routes. In order to cancel or delay school, and inform all families, we must make a decision no mater than 5:30 A.M. We did not confirm the accelerated track of the storm until after 6 a.m.. I am committed to continuing to improve our operations for the benefit of WCS families."

The National Weather Service will head to, among other places, Cool Springs to determine if the storm did in fact produce a tornado. Radar indicated rotation and winds of 100 mph during the height of the storm. For more weather and schools updates and other Franklin news, click here to subscribe to the Franklin Patch, or find your local Middle Tennessee Patch here.

Image via WCS