We have had icy roads and severely cold weather in central Iowa this week. As a result, schools canceled classes. That was the choice that every public school district in Polk County made on Tuesday due to the winter weather. The lone exception was Ankeny, which even avoided a late start. District officials said they had one bus without any passengers slide off the road and others that ran slower than normal. No injuries were reported.
Snow is a concern. Ice is a more serious matter. Fortunately, the road crews got on this forecasted challenge early with brine treatments, which have proven to be life-savers.
When we lived in Nebraska, the superintendent of the public schools lived down the street from us. On snowy days, he would fire up his Suburban in the wee hours of the morning and pick up the superintendent of the Catholic schools for a trip around the area to determine if they should collectively cancel school for the day. I would often see him drive by as I was blowing snow out of my driveway. On his return, he would give me a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” through his window as a signal on their decision.
In my many discussions with those two school superintendents, I learned to appreciate the seriousness of school cancelations. They are damned-if-you-do or damned-if-you-don’t decisions. Don’t cancel school, and you risk weather-related accidents or injuries. Cancel school too often, and you hear anger from staff and students who end up with extended school years. With busing being an integral and expected part of education today, the stakes are even higher.
My 86-year-old mother tells stories of her youth in the snowy winters on the farms of northern Iowa.
“School was never canceled,” she said. “If you could make it, you made it. If you couldn’t, you didn’t.”
Did she miss school because of snow?
“Never,” she said. “Dad made sure that we made it to school — one way or another. By truck or by tractor, we were there — always. And so were the teachers.”
Several feet of snow. Gravel roads. Primitive snow plow equipment. No brine treatments. No school buses. And school was in session — always. Right or wrong, we certainly live in a different world today.
Have a thoughtful Thursday, and thanks for reading.
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305 | 
