Many families within the Hamilton Southeastern School District often ask – how does the administration decide whether to call off school or impose a 2-hour delay on bad weather days?  Superintendent Allen Bourff reviewed that policy for school board members Wednesday night.

Unless a decision is made the day before, Hamilton County school superintendents talk to each other through text messaging around 4:10am that day, and compare notes on what each has been observing or seeing within their school district boundaries.

Each Hamilton County superintendent is also on contact with their respective transportation director.  The transportation chiefs use their network of bus drivers to evaluate the condition of the roads.

The Hamilton County Highway Department, as well as city road crews, the sheriff’s department and city police are all contacted for their perspective.  The National Weather Service and local television meteorologists have information the school districts evaluate in making this decision.

“Sometimes it’s an easy call and sometimes it’s not,” Dr. Bourff said.  “It’s never a call that’s going to be a good one as far as everyone is concerned.”

The condition of the roads and the overall weather are evaluated in making a decision.  The general temperature threshold for calling school is a wind chill factor of 19 degrees below zero and lower.

“When the (wind chill) is 19 degrees below zero, it becomes dangerous for students to stand outside for lengths of time, 5 minutes or more,” Bourff told the board.  “The 19 below zero is not a hard and fast rule. If the buses are sluggish, if we are experiencing difficulty in the buildings, we can deviate from that.”

Road conditions can vary widely within the Hamilton Southeaster School District boundaries.  For example, Bourff said weather conditions can be quite different on Lantern Road and 116th Street in Fishers, compared to the Durbin area in Wayne Township.