Early this week, the region experienced Winter Storm Saturn. Despite the significant amounts of snow that fell, school continued on its regular schedule.

With this lack of cancellation or delay came several comments from unhappy students who believed they deserved a snow day.

“I believed this was a perfect day for us to have off. The weather wasn’t that great and the roads weren’t plowed, and we have a lot of young drivers who haven’t experienced this kind of driving weather,” Anthony Schneider (12) said.

Although some students felt that conditions were unsafe, the administration, who completes a survey of the district on the mornings following storms such as Saturn, decided the roads were safe enough for students, parents and buses to travel.

The first step in the evaluation is completed by Patrick Hubbard, Director of Transportation and Dr. Larry Veracco, Superintendent. In the early hours of the morning, Hubbard and Veracco drive throughout the district to survey the roads.

“I travel mostly in Schererville, while Mr. Hubbard comes in from the south and travels through St. John, Dyer, and north Schererville,” Dr. Veracco said.

If Hubbard and Veracco find the roads to be iffy, they continue to contact local police and surrounding school corporations.

“We consult with the police departments of the three towns to get their opinions based somewhat on the number of reported accidents [in the area],” Veracco said.

The last step is to check the weather forecast to see if any additional snow is approaching.

“We have a policy to not launch any call prior to 5:30 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. For foggy days, we do wait until the last minute since fog has been known to clear quickly sometimes. Our buses pull out shortly after 6 a.m., so sometimes that decision is not made until 5:55 a.m.,” Dr. Veracco said.