As the school year’s first snow days ensued, students played in the snow and enjoyed the relaxing winter break extension. But for many, this was not a time of rest as the city’s first responders, snow crews and citizens sprung into action to get roads clear and people safe.
Snow crews spread salt on the roads into the night to prevent the hazardous icing conditions warned by weather forecasts. Kansas highways such as I-70 were shut down and many roads were blocked off, leaving the city in lockdown as mounds of snow formed on the ground in mere hours.
On Jan. 5, the National Weather Service reported 8-13 inches of snowfall in Kansas City, which covered driveways, side streets and highways. While schools closed, healthcare workers and first responders still had to take on the roads to serve others.
According to 41 Action News, KC Off Road Snow Squad volunteers helped drive essential workers to and from their jobs to keep them safe and alleviate some of their anxiety.
Community members stepped up by shoveling their elderly neighbor’s driveways or pushing cars out of the snow. Snow plows prioritized major highways and roads before moving onto the local neighborhoods, making it almost impossible for the residents to get out without taking action. Snow Removers were responsible for aiding over 140 different streets – making it a week-long process.
Roeland Park, KS’s city ordinance requires each homeowner to shovel the sidewalk in front of their house for pedestrians and kids walking to school. Those who refused to comply were at risk of getting fined.
After the initial blizzard had ceased, another three inches of snow came on Jan. 10, granting students another snow day. Hazardous road conditions continued with the Kansas City Star citing over 204 car crashes taking place the week of the storm.
The first snow of the year, a 12-inch blizzard, left some people feeling initially unprepared, but the snow plowers, first responders and volunteers who worked around the clock ensured the roads eventually were clear for community members.
According to Dean of Students, Alex Keith, continual inclement weather means the administration has had to figure out ways for students to stay safe when making their drive to school. The late start day option has been exercised twice this year allowing more time in the morning for the student drivers.
“It gives the road crews an extra hour to get out there and the sun makes a big difference when heating the road as well,” Keith said. “It helps our students to give themselves more time to get to school.”
But the road conditions are not the only factor that determines a snow day, the condition of the parking lot and ensuring safety for students also takes precedence. The maintenance team and private hires work together to make the parking lot suitable before students arrive.
“First, we treat the parking lot and anywhere that you walk outside with salt,” Keith said. “Then we hire a private person to come and clear our lot as well. This comes with an added cost for the snow removal on top of time for our maintenance crew as well. The time that they’re clearing snow is time that they aren’t doing something else that needs to be done.”
With another snow day occurring on Feb. 19, using up the last allotted snow day of the school calendar, students have reached their limit on inconsequential days off. Keith said the administration uses built-in extra days until they have to start using virtual or professional development days. The school must get so many minutes to adhere to guidelines set by the archdiocese.
“There’s this whole algorithm that the Archdiocese gives us, and I put in every single schedule that we have, and it gives us a blanket amount of minutes,” Keith said. “And so if we use an entire snow day, that’s that many minutes that are gone, but we usually have around five or six days built in. There are always things that we can do to make the days work a little bit better to make up the lost minutes.”
Even with more snow predicted to hit the Kansas City area, Keith is confident that the school days are ready to adjust.
“We never worry because we have a contingency plan in place,” Keith said. “If we do go over the number of snow days that we have banked up, then we will start adding back in school days.”
