Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 119. No.52	DECEMBER 29, 2010

Meade County schools cancellations
and delays

Every attempt is made to maintain the operation of the Meade County School System on regular schedule. However, as our buses travel 5,000 miles a day, road conditions in various parts of the county may differ widely. In case of inclement weather, district personnel follow established procedures before making the decision to delay or cancel school.

Timeline
3 - 4:45 a.m. Transportation director monitors local weather conditions and forecasts on radio, television, and local time/temperature (547-1111); checks computerized radar screens; talks with officials of neighboring school districts; and communicates with state and county highway departments as well as 911 emergency services.
4:45 - 5:45 a.m. Four district administrators, who stay in contact by cell phone, travel roads in different geographical areas of Meade County.
5:45 a.m. District administrators report back to the board of education, continue to monitor weather conditions, and make decision about schedule changes. This decision must be determined by 6 a.m. as the first bus driver begins her route at 6:15 a.m.
6 a.m. Decision is announced on WMMG radio, 93.5FM.
Four Louisville television stations are notified.
All bus drivers and school administrators are contacted.
E-mail notification and/or text messages are sent to subscribers of Meade County Schools’ Notify Me Program.
Message is recorded on board telephone’s voice mail system, 422-7500.
If weather conditions deteriorate while buses are en route, we hold buses at elementary schools until roads have improved sufficiently for travel to the middle and high schools.
At times, schools may be delayed one or two hours in order to ensure that buses are traveling in daylight hours and drivers have increased visibility. In case of any delay, parents and students should continue to listen to WMMG 93.5 as weather conditions may warrant other schedule changes.
Communication
• First and foremost, we telephone Dave Clark at WMMG 93.5 – either at his home phone, cell phone, or work phone – so that announcements can be aired when the station signs on at 6 a.m. We maintain continued contact with WMMG 93.5, as necessary, in order to provide updates for the community. Again, school delays of one or two hours may at times result in cancellations so parents and students should continue to listen to the radio station.
• We telephone WHAS radio, 840 AM, as well as all four Louisville television stations – WHAS, WAVE, WLKY, and FOX. (Because television systems are automated, local updates may not be broadcast as quickly as they are on WMMG 93.5 radio.)
• We have previously communicated with elementary parents and maintain records of any transportation changes that children should follow on days of early dismissal or midday cancellations of afternoon preschool programs.
• A copy of snow routes has previously been sent home with students, published in The Meade County Messenger, and posted on the Meade County Schools’ website (www.meade.kyschools.us>departments>transportation). Snow routes may vary in cases of extreme weather and unsafe road conditions; in that case, we will ask parents to meet buses at main roads.
• All announcements of delays or cancellations are communicated via e-mail or text message to subscribers of Notify Me (www.meade.kyschools.us).
• All bus drivers have cell phones on their buses for communication with district or school staff.
Our bus drivers, who complete an extensive amount of training, do an outstanding job in providing safe transportation for Meade County’s students each day. In addition, our bus garage staff is at work at 6:30 a.m., and the receptionist at the board office reports at 7 a.m. District and school staff members also handle unusual situations with any schedule changes, but again the well-being of our students is our foremost concern.
Even with all information that we receive from the media and technology, and in spite of all precautions that we take; however, Mother Nature may still not cooperate. Therefore, parents must always use their best judgment in making decisions about the transportation of their children. We all have the same goal – making sure that our students leave and return home safely each and every day.

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