Hello, Bulldogs!

Winter is coming, and we want to share some insights into how we make these decisions and why, in some cases, we wait until the morning to make the final determination. Each weather event is unique, and conditions can vary among neighboring districts.

When possible, the district will elect to be in-person, as that is ideal for teaching and learning.  The two-hour delay option gives us the ability to wait for conditions to improve enough for us to be in session on campus.

These decisions include a wide variety of factors. When inclement weather is expected, we closely monitor forecasts and road conditions throughout the evening and early morning. Administrators take time to drive key routes across our district to gauge conditions first-hand.

While we aim to make calls the night before when possible, several key factors can change overnight, including:

Road & Sidewalk Conditions – Snow, ice or freezing rain can improve or worsen in the early hours. Our team assesses real-time conditions before school buses, staff, and student drivers hit the roads. These road assessments are complicated by the fact that varying weather conditions can impact the effectiveness of the product used to treat the roads. Our town and county road crews do an excellent job of treating roads at night and in the early morning. Often, because of their hard work with an additional two hours, road conditions improve enough for us to have classes on campus.

Temperature & Wind Chill – We consider extreme cold and how it affects students walking to school or waiting at bus stops. Wind chill values can improve over the morning hours, impacting the day's decision.

Forecast Uncertainty – Weather models can vary, and conditions sometimes shift unexpectedly. Making a decision too early can mean canceling school unnecessarily or, conversely, assuming roads will be safe when they are not.

Bus & Staff Availability – If conditions deteriorate, ensuring our buses can operate safely and that staff can get to school is critical to providing a safe and effective learning environment.

For the 2025-26 school year, students will have a traditional snow day for the first six school closures. Depending on when the district accumulates six closures, we will evaluate our options moving forward.

We will make every effort to inform parents/guardians as soon as possible when schools will be closed due to inclement weather. Our goal is to send these notifications before 9:30 p.m. the evening before the school closure, or between 5 and 6 a.m. on the day of the closure.

Cancellations will always be shared first by email, phone and SMS message via ParentSquare. If your contact information has changed recently, please make sure that you have informed your school. You can also update your contact preferences in our PowerSchool Student Information System.

Email, phone and text will always be our top priorities for sharing urgent updates. Other ways of tracking information from us about events like snow days include, by order of importance:

• KSD and school websites

• KSD’s Facebook account

• Local print and broadcast news outlets

Depending on weather and road conditions, a decision may be made to delay the start of school by two hours rather than cancel classes. If that happens, schools will start at the following times:

• KMS, KJH & KHS - 9:30 a.m.

• Elementary Schools - 10:35 a.m.

Please know our top priority is the safety of our students and staff while working toward the least amount of disruption to learning.