Taking a closer look at what's behind school weather decisions

School districts across the state have some tough decisions to make when there’s snow and ice. What exactly goes into those decisions?

For parents across Connecticut, dealing school delays or closures during winter is a fact of life.

“It’s stressful. It’s stressful, but we manage it and find a way in our schedules,” Percy Subbarao, of West Hartford, said.

“It definitely changes her approach to the scheduling in the morning which is not the most convenient of things,” Jonathan Raub, of West Hartford, said.

But how are those decisions made? Waterbury Public Schools Superintendent Verna Ruffin said it requires consultation between various groups, including public works and bus companies.

“We always consider safety first. Safety of our students and our families. Safety of our staff coming in and out of the district,” she said.

She said the timing and type of storm plays a role in the decision making in her district.

“If it’s snow and ice, in all likelihood, there’s going to be a closure or early release or something usually,” Ruffin said.

Some Connecticut school districts use John Bagioni, a consulting meteorologist with Fax Weather Service, for weather information. He has phone conferences with superintendents grouped roughly by county regions to give them the latest forecast.

“I’ll try to lay the weather for the next several hours or for the entire day depending on what we’re dealing with here,” Bagioni said.

He said this helps guide superintendents on decisions to delay or cancel classes or after school events. Bagioni said it already has an impact some districts.

“They thought it wasn’t prudent to hang into the evening when the chances of icing or snow accumulation would be increasing during the course of the evening,” he said.

Bagioni stresses he only gives weather information and doesn’t tell superintendents what they should do.

“They’re going to make the call and technically I think that’s the role of the superintendent,” he said.

Ruffin also said parents should make sure they have their contact information updated with their school district so they can get alerts and messages.