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Inclement Weather Information

Decision Process | Getting The Word Out | School Canceled | School Delayed | Early Dismissal |

 

Unpredictable winter weather may necessitate Boone County Schools to alter daily schedules or routines within the district.  To be prepared please make sure your child’s school has up-to-date phone numbers and emergency contacts for your family.  Also, have child-care arrangements already in place should the need arise to close school early, delay or cancel school.

 

Decision process

Boone County Schools have a great team working tirelessly to make decisions on closing or delaying school, always keeping the safety of our students as the top priority.  As early as 3:00 a.m., if snow, freezing rain, sleet or other dangerous precipitation presents our Assistant Superintendent for Operations set out to inspect the road conditions. They drive designated routes, checking the roadways that are typically the most dangerous when snow covered.  The team considers safe travel not only on streets but sidewalks, parking lots, and  driveways.  Other conditions to consider include the outside temperature, wind chill factor and the amount of precipitation fallen or falling. The Assistant Superintendent for Operations contacts the county public works department to check on road clearing progress.  Once enough information is gathered and shared with the Superintendent the team focuses on one question:  Would you feel safe transporting students in a school bus in the current or predicted conditions?

Whenever travel is affected by winter weather the District has four choices:

  • Cancel school
  • Delay opening
  • Early dismissal
  • Open on schedule

The team attempts to make a decision by 5:00 a.m. There are times when a decision is not clear-cut, for instance in cases of a snow storm happening right at the time of assessment.  [BACK TO TOP]

Getting the word out

Once a decision is made, the notification process begins.  We get the word out as quickly as possible, through our phone notification system, news media outlets, district social media outlets and the district’s webpage. Since the phone system has thousands of households to call, it can take 45 minutes to an hour for all the messages to go out. Please note that this information is general in nature and you should always refer to your child's school protocol for school closings and delays.

In the meantime, visit the following to check the district’s status:

•     Website:     www.boone.kyschools.us

•     Facebook:   www.facebook.com/TheBooneCountySchools

•     Twitter:       @Boone_County and @BCSWx

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If school is closed to In-person Instruction:

Schools will not be open for regular business and students will utilize Remote Learning.  Students engage in Remote Learning via a combination of Google meets with teachers and independent learning activities previously assigned or assigned that day through Google Classroom, Canvas, or some other digital learning platform.  [BACK TO TOP]

If school is canceled:

Schools will not be open for regular business. 

All afternoon and evening activities, including night school, are canceled as well. However, if conditions improve and after-school activities can safely be held, an announcement will be made.  [BACK TO TOP]

If school is delayed:

All schools start either one or two hours later than normal. Buses may run their regular routes or an altered route depending on weather and road conditions at the time; just add one or two hours to the regularly scheduled pick up times depending on the length of the delay.

School dismissal times remain the same, and afternoon and evening activities continue as usual unless weather conditions deteriorate throughout the day.

Decisions about making up the time missed will be made on a case-by-case basis in accordance with state guidelines.  [BACK TO TOP]

If schools dismiss early:

The decision will be made as early as possible to allow families time to make arrangements.

Children in the morning preschool sessions who ride the bus will be taken home at the regular time, and afternoon preschool sessions are canceled.

Decisions about making up the time missed will be made on a case-by-case basis in accordance with state guidelines.

Although students may get excited for an unanticipated day off from school, they will have to make up missed days before school ends for the year.  However, the Board of Education does have the authority to adjust the school year calendar by reducing student days as long as the calendar meets all KDE requirements for attendance.

The Boone County Schools will always make decisions to ensure the safety of our students and staff to the best of our ability.  [BACK TO TOP]