School Closings

COLUMBIA COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT #4

SCHOOL CLOSING DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER

The winter storm season is just around the corner, and we have procedures in place to close Unit #4 schools if it becomes necessary. In case of inclement weather, the Unit #4 Transportation Coordinator and I will make a determination whether school will be closed. This decision will be based primarily on whether or not the road conditions are severe enough to jeopardize the safety of our students and/or the predicted weather for the remainder of the day. We will make every effort to make the decision by 5:30 a.m.

There may be times when the best course of action is to delay the start of school due to early morning road conditions. At such times, school will start one hour later than usual. Therefore, the buses will also run one hour later than usual. It may also be necessary to adjust the school dismissal time due to emergency conditions. The unscheduled dismissal of school creates significant disruption for families of younger students, and we will avoid doing this unless it becomes absolutely necessary. Please take time to make plans for your youngster now in such cases. It is important that your son/daughter knows in advance where to go in case of an emergency closing of school. If your plan calls for a change in bus service, please inform the school in writing of your request so that school personnel have prior notification and can keep your child safe.

As soon as it is decided to close school or to adjust opening or dismissal times, the following news services will be notified in the order listed below:

AlertNow Message(District Communication System)

KMOV TV CHANNEL 4

KSDK TV CHANNEL 5

KTVI TV CHANNEL 2

KSDK WEBSITE http://www.ksdk.com (click on “Weather”)

Please refrain from calling the school, radio/TV stations, or administrators’ home numbers for school closing information. It is important that these telephones are kept open to coordinate the decision-making process and for emergency communications. To obtain school closing and schedule modification information, watch the television stations or check the website noted above.

Sincerely,

Christopher Grode, Superintendent of Schools