By Kevin Kimmel, Bucyrus City Schools Superintendent
The next several months are a happy time of year filled with holiday celebrations and time well spent with family. It is also a time for inclement weather in our community, and that means the possibility for school delays and cancellations. Student and staff safety arriving to and getting home from school is the top priority for the Bucyrus City School District Board of Education and administration.
While the district does not have an official inclement weather policy, I try to follow a procedure that involves many different variables. One of the first is a phone call at 4:00 a.m. from the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office when there is an inclement weather situation.
After receiving that phone call, I hit the streets driving around Bucyrus checking road conditions, the conditions of the sidewalks throughout the community and the parking lot conditions at both the Elementary and Secondary buildings. During this time, I am also in close communication with the Sheriff’s Office, City of Bucyrus Police Department, the Ohio Department of Transportation and other superintendents in Crawford County.
If the conditions dictate a need for a delay, I try to make that call as close to 5:30 a.m. as possible. Ultimately, the goal is to make a decision about the status of the district prior to the first school bus leaving at 6:15 a.m.
If a decision is made to delay the start of school, I continue monitoring conditions and communicating with appropriate personnel. If conditions worsen following the decision to delay school, I will make every effort to announce a school closure as close to 7:30 a.m. as possible.
When announcing delays, closures or cancellations, the Bucyrus City School District utilizes multiple communication tools to help everyone in the community stay informed. The first method is our SchoolConnects calling system that allows me to send a phone call, text and email to students’ families and staff. Second, the district utilizes social media sites Facebook and Twitter. If you haven’t liked the district page, please visit facebook.com/bucyrusredmen and give the page a “Thumbs Up”. You can also follow the district’s Twitter page at twitter.com/bucyrusredmen. A third communication tool the district utilizes is the district website, bucyrusschools.org. Finally, the district is utilizing a mobile app called SchoolWay, which is a push notification system available for individuals with an Apple or Android device. If you only have a basic cell phone or just an email address, you can visit bucyrusschools.org/mobileapp.html to sign up for text message and/or email alerts. The district also communicates delays and closure with local and regional radio stations, television stations and online media websites.
If at any time you have a question or concern about the procedures I follow to determine the status of the Bucyrus City School District during inclement weather, please contact my office directly at 419-562-4045 or email kkimmel@bucyrusschools.org.