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Transportation director defends Feb. 6 call; board hears how weather decisions are made
Summary
The district’s transportation director explained the early‑morning road checks, county coordination and staff backups used to decide delays and cancellations. Board members acknowledged community frustration over a Feb. 6 call but were told county advisories don’t automatically determine district decisions.
April, the district’s transportation director, walked the Smith‑Green Community Schools board through the district’s process for calling weather delays and cancellations at the Feb. 16 meeting, detailing early morning road checks, coordination with county crews and backups involving mechanics and grounds staff.
April said staff begin monitoring conditions well before dawn, perform road checks and consult county road crews and neighboring transportation directors to decide whether buses can run; she described a “two‑pole” rule for stops during fog and said she often drives routes to assess bus performance. April and colleagues told trustees that an orange county advisory does not automatically require the district to cancel school if the advisory does not affect district roads. Trustees and administrators characterized Feb. 6 as a timing and forecasting failure — a difficult “perfect storm” of changing conditions — and acknowledged that although many families were upset, drivers and staff worked through the day to keep students safe.
Board members asked whether the district could make earlier or more cautious calls; April said the district has moved to earlier call times to give families more notice, and described field checks and local knowledge as central to decisions. No formal policy change was made at the meeting; transportation staff said they will continue current protocols while exploring refinements to communication and decision timing.
