Prosser School District 2016/2017

Winter School Closures and Delays District Website: www.prosserschools.org

Dear Parents:

With beautiful fall colors all around us I know it is hard to believe that winter is just around the corner, bringing with it the cold weather. The following information will be helpful for everyone as we address the reality of icy and snowy road conditions:

Road Conditions When roads turn icy and slick, Bill Petersen, our Transportation Director, and I will be on the road each morning to check conditions. We begin checking the areas in town, on the Horse Heaven Hills and in the Roza Area by 4:10 a.m. Understanding that each area can have different road conditions, Bill and I meet back at the District Office at about 5:15 a.m. to assess the overall conditions. After checking with local police, the City of Prosser, State Patrol and the County Roads Department, we make the first call to delay or cancel school between 5:30 and 5:45 a.m. In most cases we will delay the beginning of school for two hours. This allows us a chance to see how road conditions improve after the sand trucks have completed their jobs.

Once the decision to delay or cancel school has been made, the following radio stations will be contacted with our first decision by approximately 5:45 a.m.: Radio Stations Television Stations KFAE 89.1 FM HOTT 99.7 FM KVEW KONA 105.3 FM KXDD 104.1 FM KAPP 610 AM KARY 100.9 FM KEPR KORD 102.7 FM KRSE 105.7 FM KNDU KEYW 98.3 FM KBBO 980 AM KXRX 97.1 FM KJOX 1390 AM KOLW 97.5 FM KLOK 94.9 FM KFLD 870 AM

Delay and cancellation information will also be posted immediately to the District website as well as sent electronically through Flash Alert, which can alert you of delays and closures immediately through text message or email alert as well as posting the alerts through our District Facebook page. If you have not signed up for the Flash Alert service we urge you to do so by going to our District webpage at www.prosserschools.org and clicking on the Parents tab, and then School Closure and Delay Information.

By no later than 7:30 a.m. we will make the final determination to cancel if a two-hour delay was called earlier, depending on existing road conditions and/or safety issues at that time. Each school will have a sign in front of the school which will tell you if school is delayed or closed.

We know that when we call a two-hour delay or closure it has a major impact on childcare and parents work schedules. Please understand that we will make the best decision based on the safety and welfare of our students at the time they will be coming to school. Even though conditions may change later in the morning, at the time we make the call, conditions necessitated us to be cautious.

Thank you for your understanding and we will do all we can to keep students in school, but in safe circumstances. Please feel free to call me at any time!

PS. Please keep this list of radio stations handy to be used this winter.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ray Tolcacher Superintendent