January 9, 2025 • 8 mins
WHY DIDN'T DOUGCO CALL OFF SCHOOL? I have no clue what the rest of the metro was like this morning but we got a BUNCH OF SNOW in Douglas County this morning the roads were an absolute mess and they didn't call off school. I've got Douglas County Superintendent on for a minute to talk about the how and why of how these decisions should be made at 12:30.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
A surprising amount of snow, really bad roads, and no
(00:04):
text message from the district telling them that schools were
delayed or canceled. And I brought Superintendent Aaron Kin on
to talk about it, because you guys are getting the
crap beat out of you on nextdoor right now. I
just want you to know that, Aaron, that's what's happening.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Andy, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
So let's talk about how those decisions are made, because
this is consistent for every school district, not just Douglas County.
But what happened this morning last night.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Sure, well this morning we So first of all, let
me talk generally about how the decisions are made. We
have an entire team that is out on the roads overnight,
so we have operations folks that are evaluating our parking
lots in our ninety two schools for what needs to
happen and can we get it done on time. We've
got people out driving buses to check the road conditions
(00:48):
with the buses. We've got people out driving cars to
check and think about, you know, what that car commute
is going to look like. So there are lots of
people in Douglas County schools that are up at the
wee hours of the morning and out in the snow
trying to assess the situation across our eight hundred and
fifty square mile district. This morning we had and then
we it all culminates in a in a call, in
(01:10):
a phone call at about four o'clock in the morning,
where the team gives me all of the information and
all of the data that they've gathered. We also have
a direct line to a direct line to the Weather Services.
Skyview is the one that we use, and so they
give me all the information and give me a recommendation
(01:33):
and then I you know, we make a decision together.
And this morning on the four am phone call, the
Weather Services had actually just downgraded the storm. They were
saying it was going to be less than a half inch.
It was going to happen around seven thirty in the
morning or so, which meant that a delayed start wasn't
super helpful because it would just be setting people out
(01:55):
right when it was snowing, and and it was going
it was supposed to be very little snow. So we
did not cancel or delay school. We do live in Colorado,
so we can't cancel school every time there's an inch
of snow on the ground, of course, I know people
know that. And then around seven am, everything turned and
(02:16):
this storm sat right on top of Douglas County in particular,
and just pounded us. Nobody, none of the weather services
were predicting that storm, and once it was evident that
it was happening, and I was, you know, personally, I
was out shoveling my driveway at six thirty in the morning,
(02:37):
and I felt the change from you know, sort of
spitting snow to like seriously accumulating snow. And by that time,
you've got buses on the way to school, you've got
staff already in our buildings, you've got families on the
way to school. So you know, once you get past
that sort of six am, six thirty seven am timeframe,
(02:59):
there's nothing you can do.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
It just carries on.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
So that's that's what happened this morning. And I know
that a lot of people are frustrated. I'm frustrated, but
we can only do the best that we can with
the information that we have early in the morning. And
you know, if you think about it in reverse, what
if I had called a snow day and then not
a single drop of snow landed on the ground. I
(03:25):
would also be hearing from everyone who didn't get to
go to work or didn't get to do whatever, and
they'll be like, you know, this is what it looks like.
And I'll let you talk, I swear, but the last
thing I'll say is I I for real. I have
this recurring dream as a superintendent that I called a
snow day and woke up the next morning and the
birds were singing, and those by is blue, and the
(03:47):
pavement is.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Dry, and everyone is following.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
It's just it's a really, really challenging it's a really
challenging thing to do. But we take it very seriously.
We take safety very very seriously. But sometimes Colorado catches
us all.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
By surprise, right, And I'd see this that we got
an email from the district today saying that if kids
could not make it to school, because sometimes people forget
that Douglas County is so big that we have a
lot of rural students and maybe they don't go to
school in Elizabeth, that they're driving into Parker or they're
even driving into Castle Rock. You know, they're driving to
(04:20):
get to their schools and their roads don't get plowed,
you know, anytime soon. And I will say the roads
were really horrible this morning, because I think it didn't
catch you, Superintendent Aaron Kane, flat footed. It caught the
city or the county flat footed in terms of preparing
for this amount of snow. So Aaron, I really appreciate it.
I just wanted to give you a chance. Is there
(04:42):
like a rubric that you guys use, like if we
check this box, this box, this box in this box,
we're gonna close or is it more what you did
this morning as you described where you're taking in all
this different data points and saying no, we got this
or no this is not gonna work.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Yeah, you really have to look at the situation into
If you look at our website and for those of
your listeners, it's dcsd K twelve and there's a link
on there about how we call snow days and Mandy,
I'll send it to you so you can post it
on your blog if you'd like. And so it does
kind of go through the things that we consider. But
(05:18):
it isn't as easy as if this then delay if not,
because predictions are just that, they are predictions, and so
you know, we have to look at the probability is
two inches of snow too much? If it's three inches,
is that the threshold? It depends. It depends on what
the temperatures are. It depends on if the wind is
also blowing. It depends on if the roads are warm
(05:40):
and it's going to melt into the roads, or if
the roads are really really cold. So there's just so
many factors that go into it that it just can't
be as simple as a rubric. The other thing is
sort of the human psychology element of it. So if
you think about the first snow of the year, the
first I don't know if this is your experience, but
it is my experience even in Colorado, that the first
(06:01):
snow of the year, everyone's forgotten how to dive on
snow and no one can do it well. And you
may never call a delay start if that was a
circumstance in the middle of the winter, but you might
call a delay start if it's the first snow of
the year, because you know that, you know, people aren't
aren't remembering how to driving the snow. So there really
are a lot more factors than a simple rubric. I
(06:22):
do want people to know that that one of those
factors is wind chill, because we really can't have kids
standing at bus stops or little kids outside when you know,
the wind chill is ridiculously low. So there have been
times when we've called a delay, start or even a
closure when there's not very much snow because it is
(06:42):
just so cold that frostbite would happen so fast that
we've really got to think about that too.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Douglas County School Superintendent Aaron Kine, I appreciate you coming
on today clarifying what goes into the decision to call
school off or not. And again, in case parents didn't
get that email that I got, if your kid didn't
make it to school today, it is an excused absence.
So I mean, is that kind of a rule of
thumb if you are struggling to get your kid to school,
is that an excused absence?
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Absolutely, Mandy. And we have had that policy, you know,
ever since I've been in place, because, as you said,
we have a very large district and people some people
are traveling to a school of their choice, so they're
traveling a much further distance. There's so many things in
individual situations. The weather in Highlands Ranch this morning wasn't
that bad until it was, but it wasn't that bad
(07:32):
early this morning, whereas in Parker we were getting just
pounded suddenly at about six point thirty in the morning.
So we know that we have this vast district and
we have families that may have the roads plowed or
may not. So if you ever feel like it isn't
safe for you or your student to be on the road,
you always have the option to call in and have
(07:53):
it via a weather related excused absence.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
All right, Aaron King, thank you for your time today,
and I don't envy you having to make these calls.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
No, thanks, Mandy, and I do want to thank everyone
in the Metro area. And I know of all my
colleague superintendents are sitting in the same boat I am
where it took them by surprise too. So I just
want to thank your listeners for their patients and understanding
that this is just not as easy as it might
look from the Outsit all.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Right, Superintendent Eron Kaine, no problem, Thank you so much.
I'll talk to again soon. All right. That is Aaron Kane.
A surprising amount of snow, really bad roads, and no
(00:04):
text message from the district telling them that schools were
delayed or canceled. And I brought Superintendent Aaron Kin on
to talk about it, because you guys are getting the
crap beat out of you on nextdoor right now. I
just want you to know that, Aaron, that's what's happening.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Andy, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
So let's talk about how those decisions are made, because
this is consistent for every school district, not just Douglas County.
But what happened this morning last night.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Sure, well this morning we So first of all, let
me talk generally about how the decisions are made. We
have an entire team that is out on the roads overnight,
so we have operations folks that are evaluating our parking
lots in our ninety two schools for what needs to
happen and can we get it done on time. We've
got people out driving buses to check the road conditions
(00:48):
with the buses. We've got people out driving cars to
check and think about, you know, what that car commute
is going to look like. So there are lots of
people in Douglas County schools that are up at the
wee hours of the morning and out in the snow
trying to assess the situation across our eight hundred and
fifty square mile district. This morning we had and then
we it all culminates in a in a call, in
(01:10):
a phone call at about four o'clock in the morning,
where the team gives me all of the information and
all of the data that they've gathered. We also have
a direct line to a direct line to the Weather Services.
Skyview is the one that we use, and so they
give me all the information and give me a recommendation
(01:33):
and then I you know, we make a decision together.
And this morning on the four am phone call, the
Weather Services had actually just downgraded the storm. They were
saying it was going to be less than a half inch.
It was going to happen around seven thirty in the
morning or so, which meant that a delayed start wasn't
super helpful because it would just be setting people out
(01:55):
right when it was snowing, and and it was going
it was supposed to be very little snow. So we
did not cancel or delay school. We do live in Colorado,
so we can't cancel school every time there's an inch
of snow on the ground, of course, I know people
know that. And then around seven am, everything turned and
(02:16):
this storm sat right on top of Douglas County in particular,
and just pounded us. Nobody, none of the weather services
were predicting that storm, and once it was evident that
it was happening, and I was, you know, personally, I
was out shoveling my driveway at six thirty in the morning,
(02:37):
and I felt the change from you know, sort of
spitting snow to like seriously accumulating snow. And by that time,
you've got buses on the way to school, you've got
staff already in our buildings, you've got families on the
way to school. So you know, once you get past
that sort of six am, six thirty seven am timeframe,
(02:59):
there's nothing you can do.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
It just carries on.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
So that's that's what happened this morning. And I know
that a lot of people are frustrated. I'm frustrated, but
we can only do the best that we can with
the information that we have early in the morning. And
you know, if you think about it in reverse, what
if I had called a snow day and then not
a single drop of snow landed on the ground. I
(03:25):
would also be hearing from everyone who didn't get to
go to work or didn't get to do whatever, and
they'll be like, you know, this is what it looks like.
And I'll let you talk, I swear, but the last
thing I'll say is I I for real. I have
this recurring dream as a superintendent that I called a
snow day and woke up the next morning and the
birds were singing, and those by is blue, and the
(03:47):
pavement is.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Dry, and everyone is following.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
It's just it's a really, really challenging it's a really
challenging thing to do. But we take it very seriously.
We take safety very very seriously. But sometimes Colorado catches
us all.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
By surprise, right, And I'd see this that we got
an email from the district today saying that if kids
could not make it to school, because sometimes people forget
that Douglas County is so big that we have a
lot of rural students and maybe they don't go to
school in Elizabeth, that they're driving into Parker or they're
even driving into Castle Rock. You know, they're driving to
(04:20):
get to their schools and their roads don't get plowed,
you know, anytime soon. And I will say the roads
were really horrible this morning, because I think it didn't
catch you, Superintendent Aaron Kane, flat footed. It caught the
city or the county flat footed in terms of preparing
for this amount of snow. So Aaron, I really appreciate it.
I just wanted to give you a chance. Is there
(04:42):
like a rubric that you guys use, like if we
check this box, this box, this box in this box,
we're gonna close or is it more what you did
this morning as you described where you're taking in all
this different data points and saying no, we got this
or no this is not gonna work.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Yeah, you really have to look at the situation into
If you look at our website and for those of
your listeners, it's dcsd K twelve and there's a link
on there about how we call snow days and Mandy,
I'll send it to you so you can post it
on your blog if you'd like. And so it does
kind of go through the things that we consider. But
(05:18):
it isn't as easy as if this then delay if not,
because predictions are just that, they are predictions, and so
you know, we have to look at the probability is
two inches of snow too much? If it's three inches,
is that the threshold? It depends. It depends on what
the temperatures are. It depends on if the wind is
also blowing. It depends on if the roads are warm
(05:40):
and it's going to melt into the roads, or if
the roads are really really cold. So there's just so
many factors that go into it that it just can't
be as simple as a rubric. The other thing is
sort of the human psychology element of it. So if
you think about the first snow of the year, the
first I don't know if this is your experience, but
it is my experience even in Colorado, that the first
(06:01):
snow of the year, everyone's forgotten how to dive on
snow and no one can do it well. And you
may never call a delay start if that was a
circumstance in the middle of the winter, but you might
call a delay start if it's the first snow of
the year, because you know that, you know, people aren't
aren't remembering how to driving the snow. So there really
are a lot more factors than a simple rubric. I
(06:22):
do want people to know that that one of those
factors is wind chill, because we really can't have kids
standing at bus stops or little kids outside when you know,
the wind chill is ridiculously low. So there have been
times when we've called a delay, start or even a
closure when there's not very much snow because it is
(06:42):
just so cold that frostbite would happen so fast that
we've really got to think about that too.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Douglas County School Superintendent Aaron Kine, I appreciate you coming
on today clarifying what goes into the decision to call
school off or not. And again, in case parents didn't
get that email that I got, if your kid didn't
make it to school today, it is an excused absence.
So I mean, is that kind of a rule of
thumb if you are struggling to get your kid to school,
is that an excused absence?
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Absolutely, Mandy. And we have had that policy, you know,
ever since I've been in place, because, as you said,
we have a very large district and people some people
are traveling to a school of their choice, so they're
traveling a much further distance. There's so many things in
individual situations. The weather in Highlands Ranch this morning wasn't
that bad until it was, but it wasn't that bad
(07:32):
early this morning, whereas in Parker we were getting just
pounded suddenly at about six point thirty in the morning.
So we know that we have this vast district and
we have families that may have the roads plowed or
may not. So if you ever feel like it isn't
safe for you or your student to be on the road,
you always have the option to call in and have
(07:53):
it via a weather related excused absence.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
All right, Aaron King, thank you for your time today,
and I don't envy you having to make these calls.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
No, thanks, Mandy, and I do want to thank everyone
in the Metro area. And I know of all my
colleague superintendents are sitting in the same boat I am
where it took them by surprise too. So I just
want to thank your listeners for their patients and understanding
that this is just not as easy as it might
look from the Outsit all.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Right, Superintendent Eron Kaine, no problem, Thank you so much.
I'll talk to again soon. All right. That is Aaron Kane.
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