KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Many school districts in the Kansas City area have already called off school through Friday, due to road conditions and continuing frigid temperatures.
Knob Noster Schools called off in-person classes for Thursday and Friday, along with many other rural districts.
Knob Noster Superintendent Jerrod Wheeler, said the rural gravel roads don't get cleared, which makes it hard for buses to get around.
He said the storm's timing was perfect.
"I think this one was a lot easier, just because of the high level of confidence [and] the scope of the full storm," Wheeler said. "We knew it wasn't going to be a dusting. And then the timing made it super easy, knowing it came in overnight, we had a lead time of six or eight hours ahead of when our buses would be going out."
Knob Noster will be doing Alternative Methods of Instruction, which includes Zoom classes.
"With that early notification, we were able to deploy some hotspots out to households who reached out and said, 'Hey, we need internet help,'" Wheeler said.
Though it won't be a true snow day, students still have the option to enjoy the snow, like the girl's wrestling team did in a fun video they put together announcing there wouldn't be any in-person classes:
Cold blooded takedown!! Thx @KnobSchools @KnobNosterHS Women’s Wrestlers! The match is yours! How about 2 days? No school tomorrow or Friday for Panther Nation. AMI continues. Stay safe & warm, Panthers! #OurMissionIsStudentSuccess @KnhsSports pic.twitter.com/5xvVHaJXQJ
— Dr. Jerrod Wheeler (@drjerrodwheeler) February 2, 2022
The Independence School District made the decision to call off school altogether late Wednesday afternoon, with many of the side streets still unplowed Wednesday night.
"Driving a bus is much different than driving a car, so we thought it'd be best to call off school," Dr. Dale Herl, superintendent of the Independence School District said. "Because then you couple it with very cold temperatures and the likelihood that we could have a bus get stuck and have kids standing at a bus stop."
The district has seven snow days factored into the school year and will have used two so far. Herl hasn't made a decision about Friday yet.
"We'll keep an eye on it and hopefully, the side roads here in Independence will be cleared a little better by then," Herl said.
Not all school districts want to or can use AMI on snow days.
Schools in Missouri are limited to 36 hours of virtual learning per year. In Kansas, schools are limited to 40 hours a year, which comes out to five or six days.
KSHB 41 News is constantly updating our closings page, so make sure you check there to see if your school or church is closed.
