TRAVERSE CITY - Tuesday was one of the coldest days of the season, and there were some schools in the area that kept their doors open. Parents took to Facebook to share their opinions on whether they think those schools should have been closed.
Kalkaska Superintendent Rick Heitmeyer said, “It’s easy to say, ‘Oh, man, it is really cold out there today. Let’s not have school,’ but it creates inconsistencies. ... A lot of thoughts go into it today. Our roads weren’t bad. You know, we didn’t get any snow, we didn’t get any drifting. So, you know, we looked and it stayed consistently -14 from about 4:20 a.m. to, you know, 5:15 a.m. or so. And we just said, ‘You know what this is? This looks like it’s where it’s going to be.’”
Both Traverse City Are Public Schools and Kalkaska Public Schools go by a certain procedure, and that is to cancel school when temperatures are at -20 and below.
“We are taking precautions to make sure that kids aren’t outside. And we do that always. If it’s zero or below, we have indoor recess and not have the kids go outside. So, we take those precautions. But again, we’re following that state recommended number that’s decades old. And giving us that direction,” explains Dr. John VanWagoner, superintendent of Traverse City Are Public Schools.
But even with these precautions parents still took to Facebook to express their opinions.
One saying in part, “My kid is home today. There is no reason for them to be out on the road.”
Others disagree, saying this is just a normal Northern Michigan winter.
One comment said, “This is what winter clothes are for. It’s really not that bad out.”
With safety being the No. 1 priority, Heitmeyer explains that even with limited days to take off, he doesn’t pick and choose.
“If we can have school, we’ll have school. If we can’t, we won’t. If we’re if we’re at day 15 and we have a terrible day in march, we’re not going to have school. You know, that’s just i mean, that’s what you have to take into consideration,” he said.
Both superintendents say they respect a parent’s decision to keep their child home but also have students whose home is school.
“We have we have families who, for some of them, this is the warm place. This is where they’re going to get their meals today. And, you know, we’ve got a few who live in, in campers and different situations like that. This is the best place for them to be today,” said Heitmeyer.
