Message from Superintendent Dittberner
I would like to express my thanks to parents and staff for their patience and understanding with the decision making process for the recent school cancellations. We are going to error on the side of safety when it comes to our students. If parents disagree with the district's decision to have school, they may always keep their children home, and it would be excused.

With that being said, the factors for deciding on closing for severely cold weather are based on the National Weather Service's wind chill forecast and their corresponding frostbite guideline chart – not on what other big school districts' are doing or the hyped-up media is saying. With cold weather, I would rather base the decision on logic, not politics. Our concern is for the safety of children who are waiting at bus stops or walking to school.

For instance, this past Wednesday evening the forecasted wind chill and corresponding frostbite stage was in the thirty minute range. We were planning to have school on Thursday. At 4:00 a.m., we realized it was colder at that time than was forecasted, and the wind chill was going to get worse the next five hours. The National Weather Service forecasted wind chill from 6:00-9:00 a.m. that was going to be in the 5-10 minute frostbite range – a change from last evening. During this monitoring phase, we were communicating with Belle Plaine and Jordan. They were all looking at the same factors and acted accordingly with us.

PREPARATION FOR NEXT WEEK'S WEATHER
The weather forecast for next Monday and/or Tuesday looks frightening cold. It is suggested that parents/guardians have an alternate plan in place if school is not held on those days. Consideration to delay the start of school or cancel school will be triggered if the National Weather Service projects a wind chill temperature and corresponding frostbite stage in the 5-10 minute range. If these conditions are forecast, decisions would be made, if at all possible that evening, or the next morning. Any emergency closing days will be made up as student contact days in the future at school board discretion.