Jackson County Director of Schools Jason Hardy said he decided to close the schools for the remainder of the week as icy roads continue to be a problem in the county.
Hardy said the northern part of the county is where most of the issues still exist. Hardy said some areas do not receive much sunlight, and the ice has not melted even with slightly warming temperatures.
“You know, you could probably make a case for trying to do a driver discretion, but we just didn’t think that it was that case because sometimes we only have one or two roads and we can do that, but in this case, we have several roads that are bus routes,” Hardy said. “That’s not even including some of the roads that families are having to take their own kids.”
Hardy said he is concerned about what the impact will be after a two-week closure. Hardy said he hopes families have been doing their due diligence in making sure that their kids are still learning outside of school.
“We are always about the pacing, the lessons, and we have those mapped out pretty well, so we know what we need to do at the beginning of school to the end of school,” Hardy said. “So, then you take two weeks of unexpected absences, and you know, we just got to make sure that every second of every day that we are doing the best we can.”
Hardy said he does not like closing schools for academic reasons. He also said there are other reasons why he does not like closing schools.
“We have several kids who are at home and are not in the best conditions,” Hardy said. “Sometimes it’s better for them to be at school, where they can be fed and have a warm shelter and a roof over their head. So, it’s never an easy decision, so anytime we make a decision, we don’t make it lightly.”
Hardy said he is hopeful that road conditions will improve over the weekend. Hardy said the school system will be active this weekend in notifying the community on whether school will be opened or closed on Monday.
