ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 8, 1996 TAG: 9602080030
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Roanoke schools should be prepared to remain open when roads are in bad condition and stop being at the mercy of the weather, School Board member John Saunders says.
Like school board members and superintendents in other Western Virginia localities, Saunders has become frustrated as the missed days have mounted this winter.
"Schools stay open in colder climates. We need to see if there is anything we can do to stay open more," he said.
One idea would be to cancel bus service and ask parents to take their children to school, as a school district in Montana does, he said.
Community School, a private school in Roanoke County, opened on Monday this week because it has no bus service and parents take their children. Some public schools have been closed all week and won't open until Friday.
Another possibility for keeping schools open in bad weather is to put chains on buses, Saunders said.
Saunders has asked Superintendent Wayne Harris to evaluate alternatives for keeping schools open in bad weather.
"We can't do anything this winter, but I think we need to know our options in planning for next year," Saunders told Harris at a School Board meeting this week.
Harris said he would investigate alternatives, but added that it's unlikely he would recommend canceling bus service and asking parents to take children to school.
One locality in Western Virginia tried that approach one day a few years ago, and it caused widespread confusion and anger, Harris said.
Richard Kelley, assistant superintendent for operations, said such a policy would be unfair to children whose parents don't have four-wheel-drive vehicles or a way to get to school in bad weather.
"If you said schools would be open in bad weather for the convenience of children and parents but would not count as a required school day, a lot of parents might be happy," Kelley said. "But if you said the day counts, then it wouldn't be fair to those who couldn't get there."
Floyd County Superintendent Terry Arbogast said he has never heard of a public school system in Virginia requiring students to provide their own transportation.
Floyd has missed 14 days this winter, more than any other locality in the Roanoke and New River valleys, but he said it has never considered requiring parents to take their children to school.
"I don't think that would sit well with a community," Arbogast said. "I don't think you could require children to come to school if you didn't provide transportation."
Floyd has chains for its buses, but they don't eliminate safety risks for children in severe winter weather, Arbogast said.
"If you have to depend on chains for all buses to get them to school, [the weather is] probably too bad to be running them," he said.
Floyd uses chains in selected areas where there might be a few icy spots or on days when school is dismissed early because of bad weather, Arbogast said.
James Gallion, Roanoke County's assistant superintendent, said chains don't help when large school buses slide on ice or snow.
"You are probably taking some chances when you have to put chains on all buses to get the children to school," Gallion said. "As a general policy, we feel it is pressing it too far when you've got to have chains on all buses."
Kelley said Roanoke transportation officials will investigate the use of chains, but there are other potential problems.
Chains might increase safety for buses, but bad road conditions could cause other hazards, Kelley said.
"The fear is that you have other people on the road without chains, and you also would have kids waiting at bus stops," he said. "Even with chains, I'd have reservations about putting out buses on the street to interact with other traffic when conditions are bad."
About 30 percent of Roanoke's children walk to school. Their safety could be jeopardized if sidewalks were not cleared, Kelley said.
Meanwhile, Harris, Roanoke's superintendent, is expected to meet next week with the Central PTA Council to get its views on his recommendation for using three days of spring break as makeup days.
Saunders said this could disrupt travel plans for some families and increase the city's absentee rate.
"They've got to make up the days, but it's a tough choice," said JoAnn Hamidullah, president of the PTA Council. "I'm sure we will discuss it."
Ruth Willson, first vice president of the PTA council, said she doesn't have a preference for making up the days. Some parents will be unhappy regardless of the School Board's decision, she said.
Saunders raised the possibility of extending the school day to make up part of the missed time, but the city must make up the first five missed days regardless of the longer day before it can ask for a waiver of the next five. The board approved three makeup days, and three were included in the school calendar. But it asked Harris for a report on the options before acting on the proposal for using three days of spring break.
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