PEA RIDGE — Awakening to a snowy scene, youngsters are usually asking “Is school canceled?”
To answer that question, school officials have been up for hours checking the roads the school buses travel, calling neighboring school officials and making a determination whether to cancel classes for the day, according to Keith Martin, Pea Ridge School District safety coordinator.
“It’s not a perfect science,” Martin said Tuesday morning after the first snow fall of the winter of 2011, who said the decision whether to cancel school is usually made by 6:30 a.m.
On Tuesday, the school ran a full bus service and school was not canceled. Martin said he did not receive any reports of snow related accidents.
Multiple vehicle accidents were reported to Benton County Central Communications in the northeast Benton County area around Pea Ridge, Garfield and Gateway, but none involved school buses.
There are times that school bus service may be limited even if school is not canceled, Martin said.
Martin said school officials do notify local television and radio stations and school cancellations are posted on the school website. He said the best method for knowing when school is canceled is by signing up for the Benton County Alert System, accessed at www.bcalert.com.
“Please sign up,” Martin said.
“BC Alert will call a land line and leave a message.
“If people don’t have a computer, they may call the school and we will help them. They may even use the computer at the school,” Martin, also principal of Pea Ridge Primary School, said.
Persons may select the means by which they which to receivenotifications, including text, e-mail and messages to a land line telephone. BC Alert can notify of weather alerts and warnings as wellas other emergencies.
“That is the most efficient way to be notified,” Martin said of the BC Alert system.
News, Pages 1 on 12/07/2011