FORT WORTH, Texas — During the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend, maintenance staff for Fort Worth schools like Arlington Heights High School have worked non-stop. They've checked heating and plumbing across the district starting on Friday to ensure all systems were operating properly for the return to school.
Still, Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Dr. Angelica Ramsey told me she's concerned about the single-digit temperatures. Nothing is more important to Dr. Ramsey than teachers, staff and students being safe getting to, in and from school.
"It all starts with safety. We need to make sure that our students and staff are safe," Ramsey said.
Thanks to technology, her staff can monitor classroom temperatures and facility operating systems remotely from home. That also keeps down her concerns about maintenance and custodial personnel doing unnecessary travel during inclement weather, she says.
When inclement weather hits North Texas, Dr. Ramsey says she consults with several entities like the National Weather Service. She says she's also in constant contact with other school district leaders and people in charge of services provided to the district, like transportation, security and food services. So are other North Texas school superintendents.
Matt Kimball is slowly but surely making his mark in his new school district, Sunnyvale ISD. He succeeded Doug Williams, who retired from the district. Communication is also key for Kimball making successful decisions during inclement weather that could impact so many people in his school district.
"We have a lot of people who drive into the Sunnyvale area for work," said Kimball, "I am on a few text strands with area superintendents."
Superintendent Matt Kimball may be new to Sunnyvale ISD, but not to snow days. He says he takes canceling school extremely seriously. He takes a wide range of people into consideration when it comes to holding classes or canceling school for safety reasons, he says. He says he not only considers the teachers who drive, but also the buses that would be on the road, the parents who drive their children to school and even the high school students who are drivers with little experience on the road.
"The last thing we want is for students getting into an accident while trying to drive on an icy road," said Kimball, "so I have to take all of that into consideration."
In his previous district, Kimball says he found ways to announce school closings that would entertain his students and teachers. In one case, he used his cell phone to record himself on skis and announced that classes were canceled. In another video Kimball ended up sliding on the ice only to accidentally fall without hurting himself as part of his notification.
Kimball is also in communication with the folks responsible for the state's energy supply. When the demand is up, and schools are open, there could be a direct impact on that demand. So, closing for a day or two is important.
"ERCOT right now is asking what schools are running, what schools are not going to run tomorrow so there is a lot of facets to think through," said Kimball.
Although Kimball was in the decision mode late Monday afternoon, by evening time he made the decision to close Sunnyvale ISD Tuesday. Kimball also says the decision will not impact the number of days left for the 2023-2024 school year because they are able to make up that time.
The same goes for Fort Worth students and teachers who got a message from their superintendent about classes scheduled for Tuesday.
"I am thankful for the time we are taking to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with school being closed because it gives us also time to evaluate safety. Of course, as educators, we would rather the inclement weather to happen on the weekend so our students don't miss school. But the MLK holiday is a blessing," said Ramsey, "It is in the best interest of everyone for us to close school."