Mahoning closed, Trumbull open — who decides?

January 9, 2010 at 12:01a.m.

Let it snow!

Friday was one of the few times one superintendent can ever recall when Mahoning schools closed, but Trumbull schools didn’t.

By ELISE FRANCO

and ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITERS

Public schools were closed Friday in Mahoning County, while in neighboring Trumbull County buses, parents and students lurched forward through snow to beat the late bell.

What’s the logic used by schools superintendents in making the call to close, or to stay open?

Canfield Superintendent Dante Zambrini said in Mahoning County, it’s each individual superintendent’s choice to close their district. Zambrini, though, said he does consult with other area districts.

“I was in touch with key superintendents [Friday] morning to network and decide what is best,” he said. “Where we’re located in the county the storm system may not be the same conditions as it is in, say, Poland.”

Zambrini said on a potential calamity day he wakes up at 4:30 a.m., checks the weather then keeps in contact with the Canfield Police Department and the district’s transportation department for updates on road conditions and weather forecasts.

He said a member of the transportation crew drove the city and township streets early Friday morning to judge the road conditions.

“One of the disconcerting things was while he was driving he would step on his brakes and slide 25 to 30 feet,” Zambrini said. “Often times on county roads there is snow drifting, and a concern [Friday] morning was that there was ice under the snow.”

He said weather forecasts predicting another two to four inches of snow Friday afternoon helped him decide to cancel school.

“I must take into consideration these young, inexperienced drivers,” Zambrini said. “No one is guaranteed safety on ice.”

Poland Superintendent Robert Zorn said child safety is the main reason snow days are allotted, and Friday was the perfect example of the necessity.

“Just look outside,” he said. “When you see the amount of snow and road conditions and with more snow coming, it’s a no-brainer.”

Zambrini said Ohio schools are allotted five calamity days each school year. Friday was the first for the Mahoning County districts.

“I’d rather make up days at the end and be 100 percent sure the staff, students and parents are all safe,” he said.

In Trumbull County, superintendents are using a system of cancellation that groups the school districts into four regions. All four regions decided that conditions were good enough Friday morning to keep schools open.

“The key item is, what are the roads like now,” said David Wilson, superintendent at Newton Falls, referring to the decision-making process he and the four other southwest superintendents made this morning.

For him, the morning began at 3:30 a.m. with phone calls to the Newton Falls Police Department and road department for a report on road conditions. He also talked to his transportation supervisor, who lives in Newton Township, regarding road conditions outside of town.

The information he got told him that the city didn’t get the amount of snow that was predicted and the road crews had done what was needed to keep roads safe.

“I had the same tracks in my driveway this morning as when I came home last night from the school board meeting,” Wilson said, suggesting that there was no accumulation in Newton Falls overnight.

In Newton Falls and Warren, sidewalks are an added consideration, he noted. The other districts are Howland, Lordstown and LaBrae.

Wilson said he’s the point person for his group, possibly because Newton Falls is the western-most district, and the weather generally hits Newton Falls before the other districts.

Deciding whether to close is one of the toughest decisions a superintendent has to make, and the superintendent will be second-guessed no matter what decision is made, he said.

The worst situation is when roads are clear at 4:30 a.m., and a heavy snowfall is just getting started, Wilson said. The decision to open or close is made by 5:30 a.m. Then, the point person for each region of the county calls the Educational Service Center, and television stations and other media to notify them of the closures, he said.

Narrowing down the number of calls to four streamlines the notification process.

There are times when schools within the group make a different decision. When that happens, the district making a different choice must notify the media separately of its closing.

Mark Lucas, Liberty superintendent, said his experience this morning was similar, with very little snowfall, despite predictions of much more. He added that in a conversation with another school official in southern Mahoning County, it appeared that the snowfall was much greater there.

It’s one of the few times he can ever recall when most of the schools in Mahoning County closed while most Trumbull schools remained open.

“It was close today, but we decided to stay open after considering all the information,” said Rocco Adducci, Niles superintendent. “You make the best decision you can with the information you have and let the chips fall where they may.”

Liberty and Niles are in a group that also includes Girard, Hubbard, McDonald, Fairhaven and Weathersfield.