Sleds scraped against the snow as kids raced down the hills, laughing and screaming at Plumas Park on Feb. 19. That morning, around 5 a.m., Washoe County School District called for a two hour delay, but road conditions and heavy snowfall led some parents to keep their kids home. The decision to not cancel classes that day led to backlash from parents.
Jess Brown has a fifth grader at Mount Rose K-8 School of Languages. Rather than send him in, Brown called him out for the day and by mid-morning they were sledding at Plumas Park alongside other families who made the same decision.
Brown said he and wife start work later to have more time to take their son to school, but he’s seen how the early morning announcements by the district affect his coworkers.
“A bunch of my co-workers do start earlier, and they’re always scrambling. A friend with three young children would have to call in and stay home with her kids. That's definitely not enough time for her to set up a sitter or whatever she needs to provide coverage,” he said.
The district typically notifies families around 5 a.m. if school will be canceled or delayed.
The goal is to balance safety with preserving instructional time, said Adam Searcy, Chief Operating Officer for the Washoe County School District. He said while the district tries to inform families as soon as possible, it’s not always feasible to decide the night before.
“Weather can behave unpredictably, and so we often hesitate to make a decision at 5 p.m. for the next day, knowing that at 4 a.m. conditions might be different than what is predicted,” Searcy said.
Not all parents decided to keep their kids home. Stellar Lufrano, a mom of two students, said the two-hour delay allowed her extra time to get work done from home.
Lufrano relies on the school buses to get her sixth grader, Marius, to school. Marius said his usual bus commute took longer because of the snow.
“I got stuck at Plumb and Arlington at the light for like 10 minutes. So the drive took like 30 minutes and I was late,” he said.
Back at Mount Rose, third grade teacher Cori Zancanella said she was happy to see her students again after not seeing them for a few days but was worried about the weather.
“We were a little concerned about how we were going to get the kids home, and how teachers ourselves are going to get home with it having snowed all day long,” she said.
Due to the delay, Zancanella and other faculty members stayed late with students to make sure they had a safe way home.
Zancanella said her schedule is flexible, but she knows that’s not the case for many families.
“I think it's stressful for parents that don't have other childcare, and a lot of workplaces aren't very flexible with caring for children,” she said.
On Feb. 20, the district called a two hour delay at 6:23 p.m. the night before.
