Letter: Better to close school, play it safe

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To the editor:

Three of the Hancock County school corporations decided to have schools close recently due to slick road conditions (especially county roads) after an initial 2-hour delay. Greenfield Community School Corp. called a 2-hour delay as well and never closed school for the day. What are they thinking?

Don’t they realize school buses transport their students and have to do so on county roads (not just city streets), which are not conducive to safe driving in the icy conditions that morning presented? Pretty poor judgement in my opinion plus eleventh-hour notifications of what is going on — similar to Indianapolis Public Schools’ decisions that day as well.

Why not close school and have it be a day for students to study at home (safely) as they schedule days for this throughout the school year? Sure makes more sense for safety’s sake. The late decision to study at home can’t be any more disruptive than a two-hour delay and then praying all students arrive safely to their respective classes.

As my dad used to say when driving an automobile, remember they weigh on average 4,000 pounds. Google says an empty school bus averages 23,000 pounds to 36,000 pounds, depending on size/seating. I presume they are much harder to steer and control than an automobile — even for the most seasoned driver — in conditions such as Hancock County experienced the morning of Jan. 24.

The freezing and below-freezing temperatures continued all morning as did some form of precipitation; thus, country and side roads could not have been safe for the vast area Greenfield-Central Community Schools covers.

Cheryl McDonald

Greenfield