Inclement Weather Procedures

December 9, 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians:

If we know anything about cardinals, it is that they hang in with us through all the winter weather that the state of Wisconsin has to offer. As the Bangor School district prepares for the potential weather that Wisconsin winters have to offer, here are some quick reminders pertaining to potential cancelations, delays, and early closures.

School Closings—How Do We Make Our Decision?

Please understand that we make the decision to open or close school in bad weather based on a careful analysis of all relevant factors, such as:

·         Information on road conditions from police and highway departments.  We must give careful consideration to the most dangerous roads in the district.  Even if your street looks clear, travel elsewhere in the district may be dangerous.   Also, we must consider that some high school students drive to school.

·         Amount of snow and ice accumulated or that may accumulate.

·         Whether precipitation is continuing.

·         Temperature and wind chill.  Please remember that some of our students walk to school and many must wait outside for the bus.

·         Weather predictions.  We prefer not making our decision based on weather predictions, which are not always accurate, but sometimes that is unavoidable.

·         What other school districts are doing.  We share educational programs with some neighboring districts and also coordinate shared transportation for some students.

·         Building conditions such as whether we have heat, electricity or water.

Who Makes the Decision?  As superintendent of schools, I am responsible for the final decision based on the above factors.  I attempt to make these decisions before 6:00 a.m. in order to give parents and staff as much time as they can to find daycare.

School Closing Announcements:  The district’s primary means of communicating to families is through JMC emails, text messages, and phone calls. If you have not updated your contact lately in JMC, please do so by contacting the school office so that you always have the fastest and most accurate information. The district will also post notifications through social media and the website.

In addition to district messaging to parents, information will also be announced on the following TV stations: WKBT (Channel 8), WXOW (Channel 19) and WEAU (Channel 13) TV stations and their websites (www.wkbt.com, www.wxow.com,  www.weau.com) along with Fox 25/48. Notifications will also be communicated through the following local radio stations:  WKTY(580 AM), WIZM (1410 AM), WIZM-FM (93.3 FM), KCLH (94.7 FM), WLXR (104.9 FM), WQCC (106.3 FM), WLFN (1490 AM), WKBH (100.1 FM), KQEG (102.7 FM), WCOW/WKLJ (97 FM), and WWIS (99.7 FM/1260 AM).

Parent Considerations: As the district prepares to communicate our plans as quickly as possible, please take some time as a family to plan as well. Make some decisions on how your family will accommodate late starts, early releases, and all-day cancelations that will result in the need for alternative transportation or child care needs. Please share alternative transportation plans with your Elementary teachers.

While I hope that we have a winter of well-timed weather events that do not affect the operations of our schools and extracurricular events, it is important that we all prepare just in case. I will do all that I can to make decisions for the good of our community and safety of our children as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Sincerely,

David Brokopp

Superintendent