By Luke Harris
Students that show up to school during a storm may wonder why the county next to them gets the day off and might be confused about how closures get determined. Some policies may also be difficult to search up for a student’s county that would determine a school closure. For example, in Brevard County Schools, the superintendent gives a direct order for a closure. On Tuesday, Jan. 9, The National Weather Service issued a severe storm warning with the possibility of a tornado. Surrounding counties of St. Johns County like Duval and Nassau counties experienced complete closures while St. Johns maintained an early dismissal schedule. 32 other counties across the state of Florida also experienced closures. This early dismissal was changed to have a release at 1:50p.m. instead of the planned 2:50p.m. due to the tornado watch that was announced around 11:00p.m. Despite this release at 1:50p.m, it was announced that students taking the bus would have to wait until the planned 2:50p.m. for the buses to arrive due to them having to fulfill the rest of their routes for the other schools within the county. Keeping schools open during severe weather can cause complications like having delayed buses and having to alter the already early release schedule. Danielle Mughabghab the Confidential Staff Secretary of the St. Johns County school district stated, “We follow storms very closely when they are approaching, and this one sped up an hour faster than we expected, and we did not want people to get caught in the storm on their way home.”
“One of the factors we look at is sustained winds. When they are 40 miles or higher because they could flip a. bus, especially on a bridge.”
Danielle Mughabghab
Students also may not know what qualifies for an early dismissal, school delay, or just a full closure for the day. St. Johns County looks at how severe weather affects the transition to and from school to determine closures by looking at factors like possible flooding and wind speeds because that is where students are most vulnerable during the school day. The county also comes to a decision at least a day in advance regarding full day closures because parents of elementary school students may have to take the day off to take care of their kids. Conditions like high wind speeds can make it unsafe for buses to pick up students, which may cause closure if buses are unable to transport students to school. According to ClickOrlando.com, Marion County Public Schools will close their schools based on wind gust, and speed estimates because buses cannot safely operate with wind speeds over 34 miles per hour. Secretary Mughabghab elaborated on how St. Johns County looks at conditions like high wind speeds by stating, “One of the factors we look at is sustained winds. When they are 40 miles or higher because they could flip a. bus, especially on a bridge.” The schools that closed on Jan. 9 of this year that made an announcement about the closure cited high estimated wind speeds as the main reason for the storm closing their schools. Wind speeds that don’t exceed 34 miles per hour are up to decision for school closures, decisions like these carry a lot of pressure because of how these storm days impact testing schedules and learning. Which is why superintendents get second opinions. Superintendents of connecting counties will communicate with each other on what their plans of action are for a certain storm. Mughabghab also stated, “The Superintendents call the other districts around us to see their responses and data, but do not completely base their decisions on the surrounding counties.” although there were different plans for this storm due to how its time of arrival between Duval and St. Johns, decisions are more unanimous for bigger storms like hurricanes regarding closures.
