KISD Closing on Jan. 17 - What a Mess!
-- Posted: January 19,2007 | Brian Varvel
In response to a large number of e-mails and phone calls regarding the school closing on Wednesday, January 17, Katy ISD would like to share information about the procedure that was used and the factors that affected the timing of the decision to close. As early as 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, district personnel, including transportation, maintenance and operations, and law enforcement, were monitoring conditions in and around the area.
Harris County Precinct Three officials were contacted by telephone numerous times beginning around 4:05 a.m. Similar contacts were made with the Texas Department of Transportation. In all instances, there were no reports of unsafe driving conditions. In addition, Katy ISD transportation department officials drove vehicles throughout the district to assess travel conditions on the roads, bridges and overpasses, as did the Katy ISD police department and officials from maintenance and operations. Data from the National Weather Service was also utilized to assess weather conditions. Based on the information received and observed up to that point, the determination was made at approximately 4:45 a.m. that routes were open and clear of potentially dangerous ice and that schools could open as usual. A statement that schools would be open was released to media and posted to the website at approximately 5 a.m.
After the original statement was issued and posted, the district continued to monitor weather and road conditions closely. Weather conditions deteriorated as two significant rain showers occurred and the temperature fell. We received a report that at least one of the overpasses on Interstate 10 had been closed and a report from one of the Katy ISD Police patrols indicated that road conditions had worsened. The combination of lower temperature and substantially more precipitation, which occurred after the district's original statement, began to ice over streets, bridges and overpasses, making travel hazardous.
At approximately 6 a.m., the district decided to close schools. It was also determined that a two-hour delay would not help since the temperature was not expected to increase above freezing soon enough to permit safe travel, even with a delay. The decision to close school is an extremely difficult one because it directly impacts the families of so many students and staff members, not only on the bad weather day, but also on the subsequent make-up day (which will be Feb. 26). It is much easier when there is an accumulation of ice on roads and bridges or if icy conditions have caused downed power lines and power failures, but it is particularly hard in the instance of "borderline" weather conditions such as existed on Wednesday.
Katy ISD endeavors to gather all of the data needed to make the decision from reliable sources, including the National Weather Service, emergency management agencies, and staff who actually drive routes to see conditions first-hand. In all cases, the safety of students and those who transport them to school - parents, bus drivers and in some cases, the students themselves - is of paramount importance. The district regrets any inconvenience resulting from Wednesday's revised call and hopes that parents will understand that the later decision was made in the interests of safety.
Brian Varvel, At Home in Katy
Brian is the owner / operator of the At Home in Katy Team at Keller Williams Realty Katy @ Cinco Ranch. In addition to his real estate career, he is also a regular contributor to multiple websites on real estate and technology. Brian also takes great pride in serving on the Board for Cinco Charities, Inc. a non-profit organization serving the Katy area.
You can contact Brian at:
281.787.0930
brian@athomeinkaty.com
http://www.athomeinkaty.com
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