School is not a free babysitter. Plan ahead and accordingly to have child care backup on hand for these instances.

I would need your definition of a 'light dusting of snow'. The sensationalist media will 'teacher-bash' with such phraseology (or other 'lazy' groups they decide to target). If snow is rare, which it increasingly is where I live, there is no point in the local authorities spending my local taxes on storing snow clearing equipment for three years and then bringing it out for one day. If it truly is only a light dusting and that is true for the entire region, there is no reason to close the schools or anything else. However, if the reputable forecast is for heavy snow and the advice is not to travel only the most irresponsible authority will demand that teachers and children make the trip to school. Forecasts can be wrong and I've been on the receiving end of that when the 'wrong' call was made and a perfectly safe day of schooling was cancelled.

In countries where snow is a regular occurrence, everything is in place to enable most things to continue except in extreme circumstances. I can never remember my school being closed for snow, but it was a regular part of winter in the UK in those days. Not so now with the climate changing.

Mostly, its health and safety issues that mean schools have to close. Iced up playgrounds, icicles that could fall. Winds causing damage to rooves, fences etc.
Many of our schools are old buildings and pipes, heating systems dont cope well in the cold.
The other big issue is staff actually being able to get to work safely, especially if they live rurally.
Where i work, all staff that are able to physically get to school must....or else they dont get paid... even on days the kids cant come in.

Back in my school years, school would be called off if the roads were too icy, or there was an intense blizzard.

Why I remember spending many a night during the winter months listening to the radio before going to bed so I could listen to the the weather forecast just to find out whether or not the following day would be a snow day.

Most of the time, it just resulted in flipping back and forth between radio stations, because while there's music playing on one station, there's be a news broadcast on another.

One snow day I remember, was back in the year 2000, I was 14 at the time, I was getting ready for school like I usually did and I unexpectedly got a kink in my neck and was worried about missing school because I had plans that day.

However, it turned out to be a snow day that day, so it gave me some much-needed time to recuperate.

Best part of that particular day, was having tacos for dinner, because my neck was at the right angle for it.

Another snow day I have bittersweet memories about was back in the winter of 2003, I was 16 at the time.

I gof up for school because I had some plans that came to me in a dream the night before and was really eager to carry them out.

However, that day turned out to be a snow day, which really disappointing to me.

However, it didn't turn out to be all that disappointing as the day before, a friend loaned me some computer software for me to try out with my computer, so having that gave me something to do for the day.

Do you know for what reason your school was shut? In my area most teachers struggle through atrocious weather conditions to ensure that there is a safe building open for any students who have done the same. The school generally only closes if a majority of bus services are not running because of ice on the roads, or the heating has broken down and it is not safe for children to be there. The same principles tbat apply to my workplace.

I grew up in the country and I remember all of us kids and Mom gathered by the radio listening to see if school had been cancelled today or not. The wind would be blowing and the snow would be flying and the temperature would be dropping and our school division would still have classes. On winter I remember the temperature would drop to 40 below every night for 6 weeks straight. School was never cancelled. If we stayed in at recess or lunch hour we would get teased by our teachers and classmates.

When I lived in NJ it was rare that schools closed. I took the bus and we would get to school an hour late because the bus would get stuck etc. One year we had a Major Ice storm. Less then half the teachers made it in. 5 were in major car accidents and ended up in the hospital.
Now I live in the south. They close schools when it rains really hard. 🙄 They also closed when the temps dropped because they do not have adequate heat in the class rooms. You built a school with out heat???

I agree with you totally. Everybody seems to be terrified of liability to the extent that soon it’ll be impossible to function.
Imagine what it’s like in the hospital where I work? Someone comes in with a cold and a blocked nose, and they get every scan and test known to man just in case they’ve got the 1 in 12 billion chance of having dengue fever or something. We’re heading to ruin.

Back in the days when I rode the bus going to school, we would stand on 3 ft snow piles waiting for the bus...and while it was snowing. The bus tires had chains on them, and the drivers knew how to drive.
Hardly any accidents and people didn't try to sue anyone at the drop of a hat like they do today. The word LIABILITY was never on their minds because we all had common sense. And most moms didn't work, thay stayed home and cared for the house and family.

when I was in school, could be 2ft of snow on ground and we'd still have to go (in middle school, we had to put our driver's chains on the bus for him...)

nowadays, if a snowflake hits the ground, they call school out for the following two days... 🤔

When I was a kid, that didn’t stop parents from leaving for work. The only addition was “You know where the fridge is, you know how to use a microwave. Don’t burn the house down, and don’t call me unless you do.”

For our American friends, we don’t have yellow school busses in the U.K. - we have to get our kids to school ourselves. Just for some clarity here 👍🏻

Lol, we had to come to school even if the traffic collapsed. It was our problem that we lived far from school. I hated this mentality so much and the comments from people living in this city I recently read confirmed to me that nothing changed in 20 years. 🤦🏻‍♀

The main roads would be fine to drive on. I like to see u try to drive a school bus in the country with snow and ice on the roads

I guess you could drop em off anyways and high tail it to work ...there's gotta be somebody in there they can hang out with.

Wrong conclusion, based on incomplete information.

Better to ask why must anyone have to go to work in "possibly" dangerous situations.

The schools are right in this case. The employers are wrong.

Remove capitalism out of the equation, the problem is resolved.

Kids’ safety matters, but so does common sense. Shutting everything down for minimal snow ignores the reality of working parents.

Are you sure no place else in the whole district didn’t get more? Your house is not the only place they need to consider.

Oh no, half a inch of snow and schools are like ... weirdly, snowflakes? I remember in my day when there is five inches of snow, we still got to school. I swear the older I get, the softer and whiney things the younger generations of schools become.

According to the weather forecast, there's a snow bomb on its way in the next few days. What we've had so far is the hors d'oeuvres. Just wait for the main course!

You're responsible for your own childcare .. take a day off work if you have no people to watch your kids

What I always found amusing was that a snowflake is a danger to the precious children traveling to and from school, but it can never snow enough to put off a family trip to WalMart.

The kids feel differently

Same for our area when there’s barely a snow flurry in the air

Now I see your confusion. You think the teachers are there to educate? If your kids learn anything, it was by accident, believe me. The only reason schools exist is for the teacher. It gives them a high-paying job with minimal concern for the final product, your kids.

That don't care
As long as they start the day it counts as a day they get paid & that's all they care about

Yes, safety was good for those socialist people. Work no matter what is fatal for some, but always normal for you!

Perhaps cancelling the school bus is better than closing the school?

LOLOLOL at your name! 🤣

I agree, no wonder kids turn into depressed, timid little nervous wrecks.

Happens in New Zealand. When it snows down to sea level .

Are school there just for children care then?