City Schools Superintendent Says Decision To Call Off School Is Not Exact Science
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- School districts throughout the region are weighing the decision whether to close, delay or open on time Wednesday morning.
Pittsburgh Public Schools have already decided on a two-hour delay, but Superintendent Dr. Linda Lane says there's no absolute right decision.
"I've learned over the years, there is no right decision," she said. "I get negative feedback no matter what."
Dr. Lane and school superintendents around the region have learned the hard way -- deciding when and when not to call off school is an art -- not an exact science.
"I've called off school on days when it turned out to be rainy and I've had school on days when I've said I wished I called this one off," said Dr. Lane. "So, you do the best you can."
Dr. Lane says she weighs the evidence -- today was a no-brainer -- she canceled school early with the onset of record-breaking cold.
Wednesday's a different story -- frigid temperatures early that will climb in the late morning into the early afternoon. She's decided on a two-hour delay and indications are that most other school districts will do the same.
"The reason we're delaying in the morning is that it is still pretty cold, buy the reason we're not canceling is that it is expected to warm up," she said.
Making a decision on the basis of cold is easier than on accumulation of snow when she says predictions are less reliable.
"Cold, the weather service is pretty good. Snow different story," Dr. Lane says. "We generally do not close down due to a prediction of snow."
But she says it's the parents who always have the final call.
"It's still they're decision. It's their child; if they decide given a certain circumstances, they want to keep their child home, they can do that."
RELATED LINKS:
Latest Delays, Closures, Cancellations
Latest Weather Alerts
More Reports by Andy Sheehan
