Dear Parents, As we approach the winter season and the probability of bad weather, I want to emphasize that the safe operation of school buses is foremost in our plans as we transport your children to school. Cleveland County Schools operates over 180 buses throughout the county, and we often experience a great variation in weather conditions. Because of the size of our county and these varying conditions, we are implementing a plan that allows for closing parts of the school district instead of the entire system. This plan permits schools in areas affected by bad weather to close while schools in non-affected areas may operate. Cleveland County Schools will be divided into four zones - high school attendance areas - for inclement weather decisions. All elementary, intermediate and middle schools "feeding" into these high schools will operate on the same schedule as their high school. Classes may be cancelled in one or two zones; however, schools throughout the county will close when more that two zones are cancelled. For example, when Burns High School is closed, the middle and elementary schools that "feed" students to Burns will also be closed. If weather conditions in the remainder of the county are acceptable, schools in the Crest, Kings Mountain and Shelby high school zones will operate. Bus routes may be limited in some areas when school transportation officials determine they are unsafe even when school is not closed in that area. The Assistant Superintendent for Operations will maintain a master calendar to ensure that students throughout the county attend school for the same number of days and that inclement weather make-up days are used appropriately. Decisions concerning closings and delays will be available by 6 a.m., and will be posted on the school district website at www.clevelandcoutyschools.org or by calling the new Weather Hotline at 704-476-8001. Closing information will be available from local and regional media. Please feel free to call your school or 704-476-8093 with questions. Thank you for your support as we implement this new plan. Sincerely. Dr. Bruce Boyles Superintendent
INCLEMENT WEATHER PROCEDURES TO: All Employees FROM: Bruce Boyles, Superintendent DATE: January 12, 2009 As we approach the inclement weather season, I wanted you to be aware of the procedures we follow for the Cleveland County School District. Due to the size of our county and the possibility of varying weather conditions, we have a plan that allows for closing parts of the school district instead of the entire system. The Cleveland County School District is divided into four zones or high school attendance areas. All elementary, intermediate and middle schools will operate on the same schedule as the high school in their attendance zone. Classes may be cancelled in one or two zones; however schools throughout the county will close when more than two zones are cancelled. Since Cleveland Early College, CCAP, and North Shelby have students from all zones, if any one zone is affected by inclement weather, these sites will follow the schedule of the affected zone(s). If students are not attending school due to weather conditions, I will make one of the three calls: 1. Optional Teacher Workday. In this case, ten-month employees have the option to report to work, take annual leave, have a full day’s deduction if they do not have annual leave, or make up the absence according to state personnel policy guidelines. Employees will have to determine the safety of coming to school just as twelve-month employees have always done. 2. Closed for Students and Teachers. In this case, all ten-month instructional staff would have a forced annual leave or full day’s deduction. The student make-up day would be scheduled elsewhere in the calendar, possibly on a day previously designated as annual leave. Instructional personnel would have the option to make-up the day at an agreed upon time, either on a school-by-school basis or on a system wide make-up day. Twelve-month employees would report to work, take annual leave, or a full day’s deduction. 3. Closed Students and All Staff. The third option would be to declare the school system closed for all staff. In this case, all employees would have a forced annual leave or full day’s deduction with the option to make-up the day at an agreed upon time. Unless it is a situation where we have buildings that are unusable due to some condition such as burst pipes or power outages or conditions are seriously unsafe, I will most likely select option one. This gives you the opportunity to decide on the use of your leave days. Options two and three would be reserved for unusable facilities and situation were I feel it is completely impractical and unsafe to open the schools. When we do miss days, as in the past, the board of education will have final authority in determining the make-up schedule. We will use make-up days as established in the school calendar, where possible, and make other scheduling arrangements for staff that wish to make-up time. Early Dismissal When school is dismissed early due to inclement conditions or other emergency situations, all ten-month employees are to remain at school until students are adequately cared for at the individual school. Staff members may be dismissed at that time by their principal if he/she believes that conditions merit such a dismissal. The principal may work with staff members who live farther away and allow them to leave as soon as possible while other staff members who live closer to the school remain and assist with the dismissal of the children. As we all know, even with the best efforts in notifying parents, some children remain at school for a period of time. Principals should have a plan in place to provide for adequate supervision for the students left. All twelve-month employees are expected to remain for the regular working day unless dismissed by the superintendent due to severe weather. If twelve-month employees decide to leave earlier than their regular workday, annual leave or appropriate leave will be charged. Delay Start When school is delayed due to inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances, all ten-month employees are expected to arrive at school at their earliest safest time. Delay calls are based on the conditions surrounding the Cleveland County School District and may be different where you live. We all know parents will bring children early in the morning. Therefore, administrators need assistance from staff in providing for students as they arrive. Procedures should be in place to accommodate these children. Under no circumstances should children have to remain outside on very cold and/or snowy mornings. If ten-month employees elect not to come to work due to conditions where they live, personal leave or a day without pay will be charged for that day. Twelve-month employees are expected to arrive at their normal time when we are having a delayed start. Again, failure to report to work would result in leave being charged. I hope you will exercise caution and use good judgment in making the decisions about your response to the various school closing situations. If you have specific questions, please direct those to your supervisor who can assist you.