‘We made the wrong call’: Cache County School District scrutinized over snow day no-call

CACHE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — The Cache County School District came under heavy fire on social media Wednesday morning after choosing to hold schools on a regular school schedule after a night of heavy snow.

Now, Cache County School District is admitting it made the wrong call.

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Northern Utah has been on the receiving end of snowfall since Tuesday night. The National Weather Service warned of one to two inches of new snow during Wednesday morning with more snow expected to accumulate into Wednesday evening.

The Cache County area is under a winter advisory, warning residents of six to 12 inches of snow from the current storm. As of Wednesday morning, the Logan area had received over 7 inches of snow while the Richmond area reported over a foot of snow overnight, according to NWS data.

Despite the adverse weather, school district officials made the decision not to delay the start of the school day or cancel class altogether. In a social media post, school district officials warned there could be adverse weather conditions and that parents are encouraged to make attendance decisions for their children based on their ability to get to school and that tardies and absences would not count against their students.

The social post received nearly 100 comments within three hours, many of which were parents voicing their displeasure with the decision. Some called the choice “disappointing” and asked for Cache County School District to “do better.”

“My kid’s bus still hasn’t got to the stop 50 minutes late,” one commenter said Wednesday morning. “The bus is stuck sideways on a road. I am now taking [the] kids to school. Whoever made this choice, should be fired.”

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“With all due respect for making decisions for a large amount of people, this should have been an easy decision to at least delay start or cancel,” another comment read. “…Use your resources. Do an online day. Use a snow day. Please understand that you are making decisions for a large amount of people and putting them all in possibly dangerous situations. My kids’ education is important but please remember their safety is more important.”

Following the barrage of negative comments, Cache County updated the post and admitted their mistake.

“Today, we made the wrong call,” said Cache County District officials. “Based on the conditions, we realize schools should have at least had a late start. The safety of our students and staff is very important to us and we will be doing a thorough review of our processes to determine how we can continue to improve.”

According to the Cache County School District website, the decision to issue a delayed start or closure of schools follows set procedures and guidelines. The district’s Transportation Department uses data from the National Weather Service and other local entities and considers factors such as snow accumulation, temperature, visibility, road conditions, and wind to make the decision.

The Superintendent then makes a decision on whether or not to alter the schedule by 5:30 a.m. based on the recommendation from the Transportation Department.

In a statement to ABC4, a CCSD spokesperson said the decision was made at 5:30 a.m. but as the morning continued, it became apparent that the weather warranted at least a delayed start.

“However, at that point, buses were on the roads and staff and students were already on their way to school,” said the district. “An apology was issued to our community with a commitment to review our processes and determine how we can improve. We will continue to strive to make the best decisions possible to keep our students, families and staff safe in inclement weather.

The school district called the decision can often be complex, especially as the district covers a large geographical area, oftentimes experiencing weather differently.

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