Blizzard affects Mineral County schools

MINERAL COUNTY – As blizzard-like conditions plagued the area last week, Mineral County schools were forced to concede to the weather and change their normal operations. On Monday, Feb. 24, the Superior and St. Regis schools declared a snow day. With icy roads, which were hazardous even after being plowed and sanded, the safety of the students took priority. Scott Kinney, superintendant of the Superior schools, said the call was always to close or delay the school day if there was ever any concern for safety. “With busses, they’re difficult enough to drive,” Kinney said. “We have ice on the road deck and then significant amounts of wind, a bus is essentially like a big sail. It makes it very difficult for the drivers.” On Friday, Feb. 28, the Superior schools closed again as heavy snows kept many people snowed into their homes. Icy conditions on the roads also caused safety to become a concern again. For Superior the decision to close the school was made Sunday and Thursday evening. Kinney receives updates from the weather service and road crews about the conditions. When it was determined the roads would be too questionable the superintendents were notified. With faculty coming to the area from as far away as Missoula it was important to get the word out quickly so people would not try to brave the roads. As Missoula was pounded by high winds and blizzard conditions, the city had largely shut down. When the decisions were made, word began to spread as the schools tried to get word out quickly. Monday morning in Superior an automated system sent out calls to parents and faculty telling them of the snow day. The school secretaries made calls to those families who were not registered to receive the message. The missed days will likely be made up at the end of the year. The schools will need to coordinate with the state on what needs to be done. It is possible the state will give a special waiver and declare the storm a natural disaster. If this happens, the schools will not be required to make up the missed days. While the Alberton Public School also dealt with bad weather on Monday, they were still open for the day. The Alberton schools and busses were delayed two hours, and school did not start until 10:00 a.m. Because of their four-day school week the Alberton students were not in school for Friday’s storm. The week was a special situation and the schools try to avoid closing the schools. If the roads are clear without much ice the schools will be open for the normal schedule. “As long as the roads are safe, we don’t have a problem,” Kinney said.