When winter unleashes harsh weather conditions, it’s up to the Monroe County Community School Corporation to adjust.
And it’s up to Brad Lucas, the director of building operations, and Adam Terwilliger, the director of Finance and Logistics, to decide on the best course of action.
On a day that has weather concerns, Lucas begins with his team scoping out the conditions.
“If there is inclement weather, we usually start our day at about 3 a.m., just driving roads checking some trouble areas — around the lake is obviously a place where we have a lot of trouble,” Lucas said.
Lucas also talks to emergency personnel and other corporations to get more information on conditions.
The state, city and county highway factors also impact the decision to delay the school day.
“That’s why our transportation director is on that team, along with myself, to give his thoughts on what the buses are capable of,” Lucas said. “Obviously, we have trained professional drivers. We’re fully confident they can handle any kind of situation we ask them to.”
Lucas also said the safety of the students and staff is the most important part of the decision to delay.
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Terwilliger said the goal is to try to get students to school in person, if possible.
“It’s whether or not we can get students to school that day safely, and if conditions improve... in-person instruction is always a desirable thing for our students,” Terwilliger said. “Of course, we provide those services to families and students, we really want them here in person.”
Terwilliger said that many parents were appreciative of the delays this past week due to the extreme cold temperatures.
“It’s nice in the sense that it gives us a chance for some more time,” Terwilliger said. “Time for safety and time for checking to make sure that if conditions can improve, we can get our children to school. And that is immensely valuable for us.”
