LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — District leaders took time today to share some insight into their winter weather procedures and the decision-making process when it comes to cancelling school.
According to Fayette County Public Schools Chief Operating Officer Myron Thompson, they’re waiting for the risk to further decrease.
“It's really day to day right now. We've seen tremendous improvement in the last 24 hours,” he said. “There's no zero-risk environment regardless of if it's 70 or sunny or if there's snow or if there's ice present.”
“We just know that ice is the most challenging situation that we can confront in terms of getting the buses in and out of the neighborhoods. Once we feel that there's an acceptable level of risk, we'll be making a decision to go forward.”
Ice – and the cold temperatures – have been the biggest barrier to getting kids back in the classroom. Thompson took time to share what their decision-making process looks like.
“Right now we're just going into the residential areas trying to evaluate, how much ice is there,are buses able to navigate hills, are they able to stop, are they able to have enough turn radius to get through,” he said.
“It's different driving on one of the main roads as opposed to a residential area, so all that goes into consideration. We value the input of our seasoned bus drivers who have done this for many years and they know the expertise they have to determine when it's safe to put a bus in these areas.”
Along the bus routes, the district also has to consider students on sidewalks and at bus stops.
“It's not just necessarily can our buses get to them,” Thompson said, “but what are their conditions getting from their home to the bus stop.”
District and school employees have been working hard, doing things like scraping off sidewalks and clearing parking lots, anticipating a return to class.
“Our grounds crew takes care of the parking lots, bus lanes, and parent drop-off areas,” Thompson informed. “The custodians are responsible for the sidewalks and some of the areas leading up to the main entrances.”
“Our folks have worked extremely hard to take care of this situation.”
On a day-to-day basis now, Thompson said their typical process involves surveying roads and campuses beginning at 4 a.m.
As things thaw out, Thompson did share that the district will likely see some roof and plumbing issues. The district has not yet decided how these snow days will impact the end of the school year. Their main priority for now is safely returning students to their campuses across Lexington.
