Left, Superintendent Attila Weninger (left) talks with Board Member Renae Sheibley (purple sweater) at a school board meeting. Weninger works with other leaders from the bus garage and area schools to determine closing schools. (City-Times photo)

By Brandi Makuski

We were close to breaking one of our ethical standards yesterday- oh, so close.

We aren’t in the business of giving advice. Oh, we opine in our Op-Ed column all the time, but as a news organization it’s important to tread tritely, lightly and politely around giving advice. But yesterday, we were close.

Seeing the snow fall fairly heavily Tuesday morning, City-Times staff kept one eye out the window, another on our emails, phones and area websites, awaiting news of an early school closure or activity cancellation. After all, the district showed signs of common sense when proactively cancelling classes two days in advance last week, when near- record subzero temps could have easily put equipment, building systems and lives in danger.

But in the face of mounting street impassability Tuesday, no word on early release came. It’s realistic to assume district leaders were hoping to gnaw out the storm, particularly given students had two days off last week and had only recently returned from Christmas break.

But even with plows out in full force yesterday, six inches of snow had fallen by the end of the school day, and rural school bus routes must have been tough to navigate.

While district leaders were still “keeping an eye on the weather” at noon, Stevens Point Area Catholic Schools, as well as Tomorrow River Schools, had already called off after- school activities by lunch.

So, we’d considered drafting a brief Op-Ed suggesting parents take things into their own hands on Tuesday: to not plan on after school activities- to proactively rearrange work schedules or carpooling. We’d considered doing for the public what the school district did not: giving parents- taxpayers- the time they need to arrange last- minute childcare for their a youngster, ask a neighbor to check on their child who came directly home after school instead of going to wrestling practice while mom and dad were still at work, or to leave work altogether to pick up their kids.

We weren’t talking about life- threatening cold, but impassable roads can become a just as life-threatening. Dozens of slide-ins were reported throughout the afternoon and evening, and as early as 4 PM it became obvious plows were having a hard time keeping up with the nine inches of snow which had already fallen in the area.

But like our readers, we waited for the district, which didn’t make any announcements relating to after- school activity cancellations until less than one hour of the school day remained, when working parents may have been unable to hear the news, much less make any necessary arrangements. No doubt area employers, faced with workers having to leave early, relent in this kind of a situation, but it begs a question regarding how much accountability to taxpaying parents- not just students- the school district has.