As snow covers the north and Midwest, members of Perry’s community have begun to question whether keeping the schools open is truly beneficial or harmful. The road conditions, and worsening weather places a mounting pressure on Perry Township to make a decision. 

On Jan. 6, Perry Township closed schools for the safety of students and staff and decided to implement a two-hour delay for the following day. Even with these precautions, the snow conditions made it troublesome for some student drivers to attend school. 

“I [was] just worried on the way into school. I saw someone that got stuck in the snow and they were pushing into traffic to get out of the snow,” said junior Abigail Miller. “I don’t want to be here because I’m scared that I won’t be able to go back home.” 

Students’ inexperience with traveling in the snow made them weary of driving in such conditions. This weariness influenced plenty of students to stay home rather than commute to school. 

“I didn’t drive because it was so bad,” said junior Elliott Bunnell. “There is a fine line between having students at school and then having students at school safely.” 

The students’ frustrations are heard and understood, but the administration intends to prepare students for similar instances in the future. 

“There is always going to be bad weather in Indiana. When you have a real job, you have to go to work so we should be here at school getting our education and getting prepared for life,” said assistant principal Sarah Brewer.

With the weather being uncontrollable, the administration encourages students to check the weather and prepare ahead of time so that their learning is not impaired. 

“Give yourself extra time in the morning [and] plan ahead, look at the weather the night before. I mean, if you know that there is going to be a snowstorm and you’re planning to drive and you leave at 7 then you [should] leave at 6:45 to give yourself that extra cushion time to get here,” Brewer said.

Brewer also emphasized the extra measures that can be taken to ensure the safety of student drivers. “If you’re a brand spankin’ new driver, have your parents take you to an empty parking lot and just practice braking and turning to get a feel of how the car moves in the snow.” 

Student safety is of the utmost importance to any educational institution, and Perry Township is prepared for the forecasted weather to come. With the predicted severe drop in temperature, a delay and or cancelation is being considered. 

“The temperature has to be a certain degree and then what it ‘feels like’ has to be a certain degree before they will call a delay or cancellation so it just depends on what the township says,” said science teacher, Melanie Magdalinos. 

While the decision has not yet been made, teachers and staff are prepared for a possible delay next week with temperatures plunging into the negatives.

“It just depends on what the township says…I’ll do what they call me to do,” said Magdalinos.