Opinion
Snow Days Bring Worries for Adults

What Is Real Purpose of Animal Law?

Let's Get State Police Out on the Road Again

It's Time To Fork Over All that Unspent Pork

Kudos and Thanks for Quick Response

Edgewood Parade Turned Out Nicely

AYP Status Doesn't Tell Whole Story

Letters to the Editor

Editorial: Hibbs Has Done Job of 2 Mayors

Editorial: Law Revised for Problem Animals

More
Opinion

HOME	CLASSIFIEDS	OBITUARIES	SPORTS	OPINION

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Snow Days Bring Worries for Adults

By Rory McClannahan
Mountain View Telegraph
          Tuesday was a snow day, and I spent it at work.
        There is nothing like those two words — snow day — that can send an adult on a trip down memory lane. Of course, that only counts if you grew up in a place where it snows.
        For those of you who grew up where there is no winter, you missed the anticipation of whether a snow day would be called, even though a storm was dumping the white stuff. You missed the announcement on the television and radio that students would have a day to sled, build snowmen and make snow angels. You missed coming in from the cold, soaked and freezing, with your mom waiting with freshly baked cookies, a warm blanket and hot chocolate.
        Snow days are free days when you don't have to worry about anything.
        But then you become an adult, and there are expectations that you show up for work, regardless of the weather. Granted, there are extreme situations when work does take a back seat to safety. But for the most part, we dig out cars, put on chains and trudge on into work.
        It's difficult nowadays when the schools call a snow day. When we were kids, Mom usually stayed at home during the day. That's not the case anymore, and parents have to find a way to manage working while the kids are told to stay home. It's not an easy balance sometimes, I know.
        It's something Karen Couch, superintendent of the Moriarty-Edgewood School District, knows as well. When it comes to determining a snow day, it's Couch who makes the call. And it's she who takes the calls from upset parents.
        It's not so bad, Couch said, when a storm lingers all day making travel hazardous. She gets more calls, however, when it snows and melts off by 10 a.m.
        Couch is unapologetic for either circumstance, though.
        "The top priority is safety," she says. "It's always a difficult call on whether to have a snow day or a delay, but we have to assure we can get our students safely to and from school."
        While the decision on whether to call a snow day rests solely on her shoulders, Couch said she consults with the district's transportation supervisor and with staff from all over the district.
        "We have to determine road conditions all over," she said. "If our staff members who live in Albuquerque can't get in, that is certainly a factor."
        But mostly, it comes down to whether buses can safely transport kids, she said.
        One problem that occasionally arises is when a storm hits during the school day. Then the decision is whether to close schools early.
        Couch said that is something rarely done in the Moriarty-Edgewood School District. The district runs 53 bus routes and calling school early requires getting drivers to come in earlier than usual to make their runs. By the time the logistics are worked out, it's usually close to the normal time for school to get out. Add to that the concern that kids would be dropped off at empty houses, Couch said, and the decision to not call school early is the right one.
        "The kids are always safer at school when a big storm hits," she said.
        But as adults, maybe we should take a cue from our kids. Snow days should be fun. But then again, if I don't clear the driveway of snow, who will?
        Contact Rory McClannahan at 823-7102 or online at editor@mvtelegraph.com.