The safety of Skyline students has been called into question after three snow storms occurred in one week, and students expressed a strong response to the lack of snow days and late starts. According to Assistant Principal Benjamin Anderson, over 40% of Skyline students live outside of designated boundaries. So when it begins to snow, it can leave many students, especially student drivers, in a dangerous situation.
Emma Kate Cox, a student who lives out of bounds, questions how safe her drive to school is during a snowstorm. Cox lives in downtown Salt Lake and her drive to school can become extensive in bad weather. Cox says, “I remember one time during my Freshman year it took me an hour to get to school…If I’m driving it takes even longer because I’m scared.” To avoid being scared while driving, Cox believes it’s important to check the conditions of the road. She thinks that it does not matter how much snow falls; it matters if the roads are clear and safe to drive on. When asked about this, she states, “[With] late start at least the roads can be plowed…People can come and not…worry about scary roads.” The late start Cox mentions would involve moving the start of school from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. This move could be very helpful to students who live out of bounds.
In addition online school has made snow days much easier to call. Instead of having students stay home—adding an extra day in the school year to make up for the online day—teachers can assign work to students while they stay home. When it begins to snow, ultimately it is the student’s decision whether or not to brave the storm and come to school. If the roads seem too dangerous, then the student can stay home making it an online school day. Skyline student Amanda Chanhmany, said, “[It takes] an hour [to get to school]. It kind of depends. Usually, we just stay home [when it snows].” Having online school allows students to stay safe and stay educated. Anderson said, “If a student expects a snow day and it doesn’t happen and they stay home from school for their own safety…they would be responsible for the work that they missed.”
Granite School District’s superintendents and transportation directors are responsible for deciding whether or not to call snow days, late starts, or nothing at all. An email sent by Granite School District on January 17th said, “Early morning snowfall has created winter driving conditions across much of the school district boundaries…We anticipate a normal start to the school day…Parking areas may be slick as we have been limited in our time to respond.” Timing has a lot of importance when it comes to deciding whether to have a snow day or not. However, timing can be very inconvenient for students if the roads aren’t plowed before arriving at school or if the conditions are bad enough that they can’t even make it. The inconsistency of responses to snow days makes it more beneficial if the individual school called snow days.
In the midst of the snow squalls last week, Granite decided to keep Skyline open. Many students were upset at this decision, Cox among them: “It’s not fair, because I want snow days.” Although many students agree with Cox, there is another side to the issue of calling snow days. Skyline provides breakfast and lunch for a number of students who would struggle to get their meals elsewhere. Vice Principal Anderson says, “I know the district is often concerned about…food insecurities and things like that, so I think that’s why they often keep schools open.” Allowing students access to breakfast and lunch is extremely important. However, if the roads are too bad, Granite School District will cancel school. All in all, student safety is most important. Cox stated, “I think we should just be more aware that people have to travel to get here and that it is sometimes more unsafe…you want to consider everyone’s safety before deciding if it should be a snow day or not.”
