Deciding to close school

KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – Calls and emails about school closing were coming into Newschannel 3 minute-by-minute Tuesday night.

While several area schools have already decided they won't be open on Wednesday, others will wait until the morning to make that call.

Newschannel 3 decided to investigate how schools actually make that call, and found out it involves some road work.

Newschannel 3 spoke with Superintendent Patrick Bird of Mattawan Schools to see what it would take for him to close down his schools.

“We obviously take a look at road conditions, because we have a number of school buses that travel throughout the district, road conditions in our district are extremely important to us, visibility is an important factor when considering closing school,” said Bird.

When Bird wants to make the call whether or not to close, he occasionally hits the roads, as he did on Tuesday night, seeing how his car handles as the snow comes down. It's tough, but it can help him make the call for a snow day.

“Primarily the transportation director in our district is the one who does most of the traveling on the roads,” said Bird, “occasionally I'll assist him a little bit, we'll cover the different areas of the district, and then we will communicate together.”

As Newschannel 3 drove around with Bird on Tuesday night, conditions slowly deteriorated, and as darkness set in, so did the heavy snow.

Looking down neighborhood streets, we saw drifting and treacherous conditions on the shoulders. Superintendent Bird says he has to consider students who drive, and students who walk, and all that plays into his decision. He also says that severe wind chills, or sustained cold temps are enough to shut down school.

“We were able to get our students in today, and home safely today, I guess much will depend on whether or not the snow continues,” said Bird.

When Newschannel 3 was riding with Superintendent Bird, the road conditions were bad, and while he said it was too early to consider closing, he did say that he definitely had it in mind.