Miami Valley School Districts prepare for winter weather

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – As severe winter conditions are expected to hit across Ohio and right here in The Miami Valley, school districts in the area are preparing for anything this weather throws at them.

“The way that we make our calls is we take a look at what tracks through. We look at the National Weather Service. We look at what other schools around us are doing, and we look at our own streets and whether or not our buses can get down our streets,” said Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Lolli.

Superintendent Lolli says one of the biggest fears is ice out on the roads. “Most buses do ok with some snow, but with ice it’s always very scary to have a bus with ice or students out on ice. So, that’s what we’re gonna be watching.”

At Fairborn City Schools Superintendent Gene Lolli says he and his team are also ready for whatever weather conditions are on the way.

“We have a schedule set up starting tonight in through tomorrow. So, we will get enough of the salt down and plowed as soon as we can tomorrow. But, the big thing is the temperature drop. We’re looking at winds at 40 mph and a wind chill down below zero. We watch all of that very closely and we’ll do our best to prep for everything,” said Superintendent Gene Lolli.

DPS Superintendent Lolli says they haven’t used salt or brine yet due to the rain because it could wash away the treatment. However, DPS’s maintenance team is ready to go early Thursday morning regardless of if there’s school. “They’ll be managing the clearing of our parking lots and our sidewalks. They’ll just maintain that in case we come to school on Friday. So, everything will be clear and ready to go.”

At Centerville City Schools, Superintendent Thomas Henderson says the school is also continuing to monitor the forecast and prepare. “We already have for example all the plows on all of our trucks. We have a full supply of salt that we can drop, and be ready to put that out if necessary.”

Superintendent Henderson says the school has five unused calamity days, and are prepared to use them if need be. “We’re fully staffed and with our maintenance crew now that’s a good thing. So, we’re doing everything that we’d usually do so we’re watching and waiting.”

Tecumseh Local Schools Superintendent Paula Crew is also working to ensure safety measures are taken. “We’ve made sure we’ve had salt for our parking lots and our sidewalks. Of course, we checked our generators to make sure they’re functioning and ready to go, because part of this storm…the part we’re really worried about is the potential loss of electric.”

Superintendent Crew says part of her decision to decide if school will be in session or not is testing the roads herself. “I’ll keep in close contact with my other county colleague superintendents. We’ll probably all come up with a decision together, since we do know that weather is coming into our area.”