Snow days, cold days: How Michigan schools decide it’s time to cancel classes

• Michigan superintendents say wind chill, road conditions and staffing all play a role in deciding whether to call a snow or cold day
• Superintendents say they want to stay open but won’t if it risks student safety 
• Snow or cold days can throw off family routines as parents scramble to find child care on short notice 

As Michigan braces for another cold snap, superintendents across the state may have to make the call that some parents dread but students await: Is it too cold or too snowy to hold classes? 

An arctic blast is headed our way starting Saturday night. It will send wind chills well below zero in some areas of the state with no relief from the frigid weather until Wednesday, when temperatures are expected to rise back into the teens.

Sometimes a forecast of frigid temperatures or treacherous driving conditions is enough to close schools. But those aren’t the only factors. A superintendent may also weigh whether enough staff and enough bus drivers will be available and also consider what other districts are doing before deciding to call off school. 

“If student safety is even remotely doubted, then we’re closing,” said Coloma Community School District Superintendent Dave Ehlers.

Ehlers said districts in Berrien County close if the wind chill is negative 20 or below. He said it’s important to give parents time to plan, but he also doesn’t want to call off school too early and then it turns out the weather is OK. 

“It’s not a hard decision, but a lot of factors go into it. It’s all about student safety,” Ehlers. 

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Tina Kerr, executive director of the Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators, said many schools have policies to close schools if the wind chill drops below a certain threshold, since school leaders don’t want to put students waiting for buses in harm's way. 

She said a negative 15 or 20-degree wind chill is a common cutoff point. “It’s hard to pinpoint an actual temperature because they have to look at so many factors,” Kerr said.

Michigan schools must have at least 180 days of classes each school year and can call off school up to six days for things outside of their control like bad weather or health conditions. They can request a waiver from the Michigan Department of Education for up to three more days.

Kerr said she just left a superintendents conference Friday where school leaders were already talking about the cold weather. 

In the case of next week, families can expect superintendents calling each other to make a determination on what to do. 

Many schools are already scheduled to be off Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day., a federal holiday. School superintendents are faced with the decision: make the weekend even longer? 

Ypsilanti Community Schools Superintendent Alena Zachery-Ross said her “No. 1 hope all the time” is to have school open, since many students rely on school for food and a safe place to be during the day. 

But a combination of bad weather and bus driver or teacher staffing concerns can prompt a closure. 

“Our goal is to educate students, people have asked me before ‘do we take it lightly to call off school days? No.’”

Zachery-Ross said she generally aims to make the snow day decision by 5:30 in the morning to give families time to plan accordingly. 

Northville Public Schools is in Oakland and Wayne counties. Superintendent RJ Webber told Bridge all the superintendents of Oakland County meet together and listen to a meteorologist. In Wayne County, superintendents discuss what they are going to do. If all superintendents choose to close, they coordinate the timing of the announcement. 

Webber said he hasn’t called a cold weather day in the two and a half years he’s been superintendent in this district. But he already has meetings scheduled Monday afternoon to discuss the weather with other superintendents.

Superintendents acknowledge that a free day for students can bring headaches for parents. If a school closes, parents often have to scramble to find child care. That can mean a parent misses out on a day of pay to take care of their children. 

“Yes, it can be joyful in a lot of ways, but then there are families that are negatively impacted,” Webber said. 

At the same time, school leaders say it’s important to factor in if their employees can even get to school safely. 

Both Zachery-Ross and Webber said they consider the fact that some of their staff members have to drive long distances to get to work. 

“I don’t want to expose anybody to needless danger,” Webber said.