Guilford County Schools will be operating remotely Friday as the Triad braces for snowy weather.
District officials held a press conference Thursday to explain how they make decisions around these types of closures and delays.
The process of determining whether to cancel classes due to weather is a complex one.
GCS Assistant Superintendent of School Safety & Emergency Management Mike Richey says officials take into account forecasts from the National Weather Service, updates from city and county agencies, and conduct their own assessments of roads following weather events.
“Transportation supervisors who know our bus routes, know the problem areas … those areas that remain icy for days," Richey says. "They go out and drive all of the routes between 3 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. to make sure they can be safely done. Because if they can't be safely done in their SUVs, we certainly don't want a bus on the road.”
After that, he says the full emergency management operations team meets to make a decision, and communicate it to parents. Richey encourages GCS families to sign up for the district’s calls and texts to ensure they get those messages.