Cold weather is not enough on its own, officials say
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School buses sit outside the Oglethorpe County transportation office on Oct. 22, 2022. (Photo/Megan Fitzgerald)
When Oglethorpe County experienced recent freezing temperatures, students across the county held their breath each morning hoping for school closures or delays.
Schools in Madison and Athens-Clarke counties delayed opening two hours last Wednesday, and several counties in Metro Atlanta and throughout North Georgia closed for at least a day.
But in Oglethorpe County, the coldest weather in over a year was not enough to cancel school, Board of Education Chair Becky Soto said.
“Yes, it’s cold,” she said, “but is it OK to get (kids) to school?”
Soto said the decision to close is based on the ability of students and staff to safely get to schools.
She said there’s no benchmark or rubric for what constitutes “safely,” but Zach Holtzclaw, the transportation director for the Oglethorpe County School System, indicated at least one sure-fire route to cancellation.
“Anytime they start predicting ice,” he said, “especially with any accumulation, that is definitely — even after speaking with the superintendent — a no-go.”
Soto said there was no concern of black ice last week, despite what she called “misinformation out there on Facebook.”
The ultimate choice comes down to Superintendent Beverley Levine, but she is advised by several county leaders, including EMS Director Jason Lewis, who said “everything done in the county is generally done by consensus.”
“I know that there’s, at times, citizens that disagree with the decisions,” Lewis said, “but I would hope that citizens know that a painstaking amount of discussion and information is shared before any of those decisions are made.”
Holtzclaw is also included in this process, as are Douglas Spencer, the county’s emergency management administrator, and Paul Thiel, the school system’s director of operations.
Thiel said that to his knowledge, Oglethorpe County schools had not been closed for reasons related to winter weather in about five years. Soto said she couldn’t remember the last time school was canceled.
Thiel said no matter the school system’s decision, families should use their judgment when sending kids to school.
“From my perspective, that’s the parent’s choice,” he said. “At that point, they can decide ‘Hey, if the school is open, and I don’t want to send my child to school because it’s, in my opinion, unsafe,’ that’s the parent’s decision.”
Soto agreed, telling parents “to do what you have to do.”
“If parents have the ability to keep their kiddo at home, they can,” she said. “But please respect and understand the decisions that are being made and know that we’re giving it our very, very best shot to take care of your kiddo and educate them safely.”