St. Joseph-Ogden High School will not have classes on Wednesday and they will have a 2-hour delayed start on Thursday.

Superintendent Brian Brooks said the district does not take the decision to cancel class lightly.

With forecasts calling for a high of -8 degrees and wind chills of -35 or below, Brooks said student safety is paramount.

“We don’t have a set number in regards to canceling school, as the other weather conditions on that particular day can play a role as well,” Brooks said. “If the wind chill is around -20 to -25 degrees Fahrenheit, but the roads are clear, we may have school as we can provide warmth on the school buses and within the school building.  Whereas, a day when you have blowing snow on top of those temperatures may change our decision on whether or not to have school.”

Brooks said the high school district receives different feedback from parents when deciding to cancel school than the district’s feeder districts of St. Joseph Grade and Prairieview-Ogden. Brooks said SJO doesn’t have very many students that walk to school or many students that stand at a bus stop and ride a bus to school.

“The majority of our students either drive to school, ride to school with another high school student or are dropped off by their parents,” he said.
Brooks said it is important for the district to remain on the same schedule as the two feeder schools as much as possible regarding snow and emergency days due to parent feedback that shows high school students watch their younger siblings when school is canceled.

“Even if we, as a high school district, might feel our students would be safe to be in school that day, if our two feeder school districts have concerns about the safety of their elementary students and are going to cancel school, there is a good chance we would be out of school that day,” Brooks said.

The three school districts discuss any potential weather cancelations since they share bus services, Brooks said.

The 2-hour delayed start is relatively new to all three districts. PVO Superintendent Vic White approached Superintendent Todd Pence of St. Joseph Grade School and Brooks to see if the districts would be interested in re-visiting the option.

The delayed start is used when the districts are concerned about student safety due to road conditions or temperatures early in the morning but the conditions and temperatures are supposed to be much better later in the morning and throughout the day.

“It is an option to allow us to not use one of our five emergency days that are built into the school calendar, and save those days for the days in which the winter weather is too severe all day to have school,” Brooks said.

PVO will have no school on Wednesday with all games and practices canceled. They will also have a 2-hour delayed start on Thursday.

St. Joseph Grade School will be closed on Wednesday and also have a 2-hour delayed start on Thursday. Middle School students should be at school on Thursday between 9:35 a.m. and 10:05 a.m. and grade school students should arrive at school on Thursday between 9:45 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.
The bus will pick up students two hours later than normal.