With Galesburg experiencing one of the coldest starts to the year in some time and Galesburg schools going back from winter break today, WGIL wanted to bring you an idea of what area superintendents look for when deciding to call a day of school for winter weather.
Galesburg Superintendent John Asplund says the general guideline for school being cancelled because of cold is if the when the wind chill dips below 20 degrees under zero wind chill during the hours students are traveling to school, saying “It’s not a hard and fast rule. Maybe it’s 15-below but the wind is going to pick up. There’s a lot of factors that kind of go into that.”
Asplund says there’s a lot to consider when canceling school and no school head will get it right all the time.
Besides basic considerations of safety versus education Galesburg has a large school breakfast program and he’ll consider the effect of several children not getting breakfast that day.
Asplund says that 10 minutes of exposed skin can lead to frostbite when temperatures drop that low. He called the situation “dangerous” for children being out there that long in temperatures that low.
Last year Knoxville schools’ Superintendent Steve Wilder agreed that generally 20 to 25 below is when he takes notice.
Asplund says as far as snow, he gets up and drives the road early every morning and also consults with road commissioners and transportation companies.
He shares that a vast majority of District 205 students live in the city compared with more sprawling rural districts like United or R.O.W.V.A.
Asplund says because of their expanse he would guess that on average those schools would cancel more than Galesburg.
He says if students or family suspect that school might be cancelled they can check a variety of sources from the district’s website and social media.
They’ll also alert local media like WGIL promptly and try to call families through the student alert system.
