To:  Local Media

Date: November 18, 2009

Re: School Closing Procedures 
PRESS RELEASE


  


                
                     HF-L Promotes Safety in School Closing Procedures


   The Honeoye Falls-Lima School District promotes safety first in its practices and procedures for school closings. 

   The District is highly concerned about the impact of school closings on the educational process.  We also realize that any deviation from routine scheduling can be upsetting to any households.  Therefore, we try to balance the learning and safety needs of our students, while remaining mindful of the concerns of parents.

   Since our District stretches across three counties, nine towns and 72 square miles of roads, our buses are the lifeline of the District.  The ability of the buses to transport students safely is the determining factor.

 We begin monitoring the weather as soon as storms are predicted using a number of meteorological resources, including the National Weather Service.  Storms that are predicted in the prior day’s forecast often do not materialize as expected and consequently, decisions are most often made in the mornings.  We begin the process about 5:00 a.m. with the Director of Transportation and the Director of Buildings and Grounds reporting weather, safety and facility concerns to the Superintendent.  We also consider information available from municipalities, counties and highway departments.  Decisions are typically made by 6:00 a.m.  We may decide to keep schools open, close schools for the day, or delay the opening of school for the day depending on the best information available regarding conditions.

 If school must close or be delayed, the District will communicate the decision over the local media.  In addition, the District Information Hotline (624-7152) and District website (www.hflcsd.org) will host this information.  In the event of a delayed opening, the mass communication phone alert system will be activated.

 If parents believe that individual circumstances make it unsafe for their children to attend school when school is open on a day with severe weather, the parents should use their best judgment about keeping children at home.  We are unable to monitor every situation within the District, but make judgments for the most common circumstances.

 While we may use snow days extensively in some years, other years we are able to get through the winter with no closings.  In the past three years, we have closed schools due to inclement weather on two days and delayed the start of school on three additional days.  Parents should prepare their children for emergency school closings by developing a plan in the event they are not at home.