How do school officials decide to close school?

JACKSON, Tenn. — Students across West Tennessee will be doing their snow dances Monday night. But, it’ll take a little more than that for school to be out.

“In my district, it’s not just one person,” said Eddie Pruett, director of schools for Gibson County Special School District. “We have people that check roads on the north end, we have people that check roads on the south end, my transportation supervisor, my HR person.”

All the school officials I spoke with say student safety is their No. 1 concern, and if the buses can’t run, there’s a good chance school will be out.

“The school buses are safe vehicles for travel, but because of their weight and frequent stops and starts, makes it more hazardous with slick or inclement weather conditions,” said Troy Kilzer, director of schools for Chester County.

They also realize, if school is out, parents might have to make last-minute plans for child care. But the weather in West Tennessee can be unpredictable.

“That’s why sometimes we try to make the call as late as possible,” Dr. Bryan Chandler, transportation director for the Jackson-Madison County School System, said. “Because unfortunately in West Tennessee, we’re always on that border. It’s either north of us or south of us. It’s really hard in West Tennessee to pinpoint what the weather is going to do.”

All of the officials WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News spoke with said as soon as a decision is made, it will be posted on social media and the schools’ websites.