Quincey Reese, Managing Editor; Erych Frankenfield, A&E Editor; Cameron Laffoon, Sports Editor; Jake Weinstein, Staff Writer

     During the winter season, rumors of possible school delays and cancellations excite the minds of students across the Penn-Trafford School District. With these rumors, however, come confusion and questions as to what conditions must occur in order for either of these to be called.

    P-T Superintendent Matthew Harris makes the ultimate decision, but he said that he relies upon the help of the Penn-Township road crew, consisting of the individual crews from Manor, Trafford and Penn-Trafford, to make the final call on a delay or cancellation. Harris explained that they know the conditions of the roads more than anyone else.

    “I always take the advice of my road crew. They’re out there early in the morning doing their routes. They know what’s coming with the weather, and they’re the experts in this case, so I stand by their decision,” Harris said.

    Director of Public Works Scot Fodi is one of these road crew workers who helps Harris in making these calls. Fodi is responsible for the upkeep of the roads, the community parks and the  stormwater infrastructures. During winter, he said he provides Harris with information on how his group will proceed in handling a storm, as well as the conditions the storm will result in.

    “Ultimately, we give Dr. Harris detailed information so he and his staff can make a well thought-out decision whether to delay or cancel,” Fodi said. “We strictly limit our discussion to road conditions and our operations.”

    Fodi stated that he relies on the information provided by local weather networks and various other weather news sources, which include real-time updates on the forecast. When a storm event is made known to him and his staff of 16 employees through these sources, they prefer to be on the roads by 4 a.m.

    Fodi explained that if an unknown storm occurs between 5 a.m. and the morning rush hour, a delay may occur, as this would provide the road crew with enough time to complete their work while keeping buses off of the roads. Fodi added that a cancellation would occur when his department’s operations could not keep up or get ahead of the storm.

    Fodi said that his work is facilitated when drivers move their cars out of the roads when there is a snow storm. This allows the road crew workers to focus solely on clearing the road instead of having to worry about avoiding obstacles. He continued to say that not shoveling or blowing snow into the road also aids in the process.

    Harris said that the police officer on night shift also aids in making the decision for a delay or cancellation. If the conditions appear to be growing worse, this individual is responsible for calling the road crew to receive their thoughts on the issue.

  Harris said that the snow, ice and temperature are the determining factors for calling a delay or cancellation. If the road crew feels the roads are unsafe due to ice or excessive snowfall, a two-hour delay will be called to allow time for them to clear the roads and let the road salt work its way through the ice. If they feel that two hours is not enough time to accomplish this, a cancellation will be called.

    As for temperature, it does not necessarily have to be below zero degrees on its own for a delay or cancellation to be called. Harris explained that the temperature itself could be in the single digits, but a cancellation or delay could be called upon the addition of windchill. Just like with the ice and snow conditions, if the temperature is not predicted to rise above zero degrees in the two-hour time period, a cancellation is warranted.

    Harris also said that it can be difficult to make a final decision the night before, seeing as forecasts are not always certain that early in the process. He said that he tries to make the call as soon as possible, as parents with younger children appreciate the notice, but is not always able to. Sometimes, the best route to take is to wait to see if the forecast holds true so that a delay or cancellation is not made unnecessarily.

    The most recent school cancellation on Jan. 5, for example, was able to be determined the night prior. Harris explained that this was because he felt sure of the weather and road conditions after consulting the road crew.

    Although there is not a specific time that the decision must be made by, Harris explained that the buses leave to pick up high school students at 6 a.m. An emergency call can be sent out after this point if a last-minute decision is made, but the choice is usually made prior to this time.

    A delay, having cut two hours off of the school day, affects the function of the normal school day in many ways. Harris said that the elementary schools miss out on recess and shift their class focus to math and reading, while the middle and high schools follow a shortened period schedule.

    Cancellations, however, affect the functionality of the district in a different way, as they have to be made-up with another full school day. Harris said that the makeup days are determined with the rest of the school-board calendar, which is typically generated during the school year prior. Most of the time, students will simply makeup cancellation days on the first day they would have off. If necessary, more days can be added to the end of the school year to fulfill all makeup requirements.

    Harris said that a similar process is used when deciding whether or not to cancel after-school club meetings, practices or games. As with delays and cancellations, he often contacts the road crew to receive the inside view on the state of the roads.

    Athletic director Kerry Hetrick also assists with this process, contacting other schools on away games and school events to see of the weather and conditions there. In doing this, the weather in that particular area as well as the conditions on the return trip to P-T must be considered.

    Schools such as Seton LaSalle Catholic High School in Pittsburgh and Pascack Valley Regional High School in northern New Jersey are beginning to utilize an online work assignment system during their cancellation days. In this system, work is assigned online on a snow day so that students can complete it and makeup the day all at once. This prevents them from having to come into school on a day off, maximizing their spring break time.

    Although P-T has never made use of this system, Harris said that it would require everyone in the district to be provided with a “one to one” device like the high school students with the chromebooks. Unless this was done, the school could not ensure that every student would have a device or functioning internet access, without which they could not be expected to complete online homework assignments.

    Harris said he prefers the traditional method of learning as opposed to this option, even if the district could provide everyone with a device.

    “You have to make sure everyone has a decide provided through the school and access to the internet [to do this.] I personally always favor the interaction of going to school,” Harris explained.

    Students at P-T, however, seem to enjoy two-hour delays compared to a full cancellation, according to a survey conducted among 163 students in which 76.7 percent of respondents preferred delays, 3.7 percent preferred cancellations and 19.6 percent did not have an opinion.

    Junior Collin Brant shared a common opinion about the benefit of delays versus cancellations.

    “I really like delays compared to cancellations, because we do not have to make it up and you also get a couple of extra hours to sleep,” responded Brant.

    As for the recent cancellation, he said he did not have as positive of a reaction.

    “I was happy when I heard about it, but I didn’t want to make it up,” Brant said.

    Sophomore Michael Jordan, in contrast, likes cancellations and delays equally.

    “Two hour delays are the best because they shorten every class, we do not have to make them up and they generally make me happy. Cancellations are a good break too,” Jordan said.

    The frequency of two-hour delays and cancellations at P-T is not certain due to the unpredictability of the winter season, but students and teachers alike can expect either of these to happen when the proper conditions present themselves.