January 21, 2008
Snow, ice and cold weather forced Forsyth County Schools to close Jan. 16.
"Our school safety department consulted with local law enforcement before deciding to close schools for today," said Jennifer Caracciolo with the office of communications. "This occurred after 8 p.m., which allowed us to communicate the decision to our parents and staff that evening, instead of waiting until the morning."
Caracciolo said the information was presented on the major Atlanta television and radio stations, as well as on the system's Web site and main voice mail greeting, on numerous local news Web sites and also on TV Forsyth.
"Some of the main factors for this decision included our large number of secondary roads, especially in the northern half of the county, where it would have been impossible to safely drive buses," she said. "Many of these roads had downed tree and branches this morning."
Caracciolo said approximately 2,400 Forsyth County high school students drive to school every day and are not familiar with driving in these conditions.
"While we are sure most of them would have proceeded with caution, it would have been horrible to have just one accident occur," she said. "We would rather base our decisions on the safety of students than risk it."
- www.northfulton.com
|
