Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Snow Day vs. No Snow Day? York County Schools Break Down the Process

Snow day vs. no snow day? Road conditions play a part in the decision to close or delay school. (York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office)

YORK COUNTY— With the recent winter storms and low temperatures, students in the Historic Triangle have had their fair share of snow days this winter.

A lingering question remains: What goes into calling a snow day, early dismissal or delayed opening? WYDaily recently sat down with York County School Division (YCSD) Superintendent Victor Shandor, York County School Division Chief Operations Officer James Carroll and York County School Division Media Relations Specialist Katherine Goff to find out.

Making the Decision

When a forecast of inclement weather is made by the National Weather Service (NWS), the briefings begin. As the NWS sends out weather advisories, a group of administrators in the school division begin looking at the impacts predicted for the area.

The information-gathering stage consists of looking at national and local weather resources, the predicted amount of precipitation, the timing of the potential impact, and advisories, watches, or warnings that have been issued.

“Weather is unpredictable, you could look at all of the different reports and the different models out there, but at the end of the day, you are going to make a decision to keep people safe,” Shandor said.

There is also a dedicated road assessment team that evaluates road and bus stop conditions, school parking lot and bus loop conditions, as well as HVAC and power conditions.

The school division also looks at what is scheduled on the school calendar for the day in question, including athletic contests, field trips, events and testing. The school division remains in constant contact with the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office and York County Fire and Life Safety, as well.

In the recent snow event in York County, roads were snow-covered and the low temperatures brought ice. (York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office)

A key decision-making point? Teen drivers within the school division and faculty who live outside of York County.

“Approximately 50% of YCSD faculty live outside of York County. We have staff who live in Virginia Beach, on the Eastern Shore, in New Kent, and more. Road conditions around us and our ability to staff our schools is a factor,” Goff shared.

Shandor added, “We’re also thinking about 16- or 17-year-old kids driving in the snow who don’t have experience driving in the snow, that’s a huge factor. We put a lot of thought into where our staff members are having to drive from, but all of these decisions come down to how we can keep everyone in the district safe.”

Shandor and his team also communicate with other area superintendents on their plans for closings and delays.

Decision Made. Now What?

Once the YCSD team has decided to delay or close school, an entirely new process begins to notify the public.

“We always want to make sure that we have clear communication to our parents so that they know what to do,” Carroll said. “When we make these decisions, especially if it is a last minute one, once things are put in motion, we can’t pull them back. It’s too confusing and too difficult.”

YCSD made a decision recently that delays and closings would be communicated to the public no later than 5:30 a.m. on the impacted day, but Shandor and the YCSD team aim to call it as early as they can to allow adequate time for parents to make alternative arrangements.

“Giving appropriate notice is incredibly important. Our expectation is to always shoot for at least two hours’ notice. If we can give two hours’ notice, that’s reasonable,” Shandor said. “We want to give people as much advance notice as possible but it’s also about the certainty of the forecast.”

School closing and delay announcements are also posted on the division’s website, the YCSD app, and the YCSD Facebook page. Families also receive a phone call and text message and information is also provided to local television and radio stations.

In addition to communicating with school division students, parents, and employees, YCSD also reaches out to the Head Start program, before and after school programs, and the administration at the county level to inform them of the school division’s plans.

Misconceptions

A common misconception that YCSD leadership hear about is the decision to close or delay coming prior to weather hitting the area.

York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Officers took snow photos while on duty during the last major snow event in mid-January. (York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office)

“We have seen instances where you try and wait until the weather is on hand and we’ve also gone with the forecast and then the forecast changed overnight, models were wrong, drier air came in, all kinds of things happened, wake up in the morning, and it didn’t do anything. We will always err on the side of safety, even if in the end it means that kids had a no snow snow day, we’re always going to err on the side of safety,” Goff explained.

Another misconception is closing certain schools in the district that are more heavily impacted by weather-related issues.

“York County is so unique in its layout and structure that some portions of our county have greater issues when it comes to tidal weather related events. We hear all the time about closing down certain schools depending on what weather event is impacting us at the time. Unless it is a power issue specific to one building, it’s not appropriate for us to close to a zone of the division. If multiple schools are involved where we cannot get safely to them, it is an entire district decision to close, rather than piecemealing it out to individual buildings,” Goff said.

A misconception that is often posted on social media is if most of the main roads are clear, why can’t the kids be in school?

“The county, the state, they have their processes for clearing roads. We have a team that goes out to clear out our parking lots and sidewalks. Depending on the amount of snow we get, we have 19 parking lots and sidewalks and bus loops, and all of these other areas that is just the YCSD maintenance team that is out there doing it. Our team is essentially tackling one to two schools at a time. When we’ve had significant snowfall, it can take more than one day to clear 19 parking lots and sidewalks,” Goff said.

The Bottom Line

York County Schools does not take the decision to close school lightly. Shandor and his team ultimately make their decision with the help of forecasts and information from county officials, but safety of school students and employees is always at the forefront.

“At the end of the day, we know how difficult it is to predict. We’re going to be cautious, we’re going to have a cautious approach and make sure we give people plenty of advance notice and if we call for a day off and it ends up being not a snow, well then so be it. At the end of the day, enjoy your free day off, but I want my community of York County to know that I’m going to make the best decision to keep everybody safe every time,” Shandor said.

The school division has multiple links on its website about the plans and protocols in place for inclement weather. For more information, visit yorkcountyschools.org.

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