Good evening!
Today was a full day dedicated to assessing and intervening to ready our schools for reopening. Brian Allen and Jeff Martin spent almost the entire day surveying the status of each school campus. Most of our schools are in really good shape with just some minor cleanup required. There are several of our larger campuses that need major plowing and several other campuses need entrances widened along with parking lot cleanup. The modular unit inspections will occur tomorrow with support from the city's Inspectional Services staff. We conduct these inspections following the accumulation of significant snowfall on those roofs.
At the invitation of City Manager Augustus, we participated in a conference call with various department heads discussing the city's recovery and cleanup efforts. We were able to inform the group of the work underway in WPS and to discuss thoughts around our decision making process regarding school status. City Manager Augustus and his team continue to provide collaborative and direct support to assist in our preparation to reopen schools.
In addition to the final work that is needed on our campuses, we have provided information to the city regarding the monumental snow mounds on corners which can pose safety hazards for walkers to school as drivers may not see students over those mounds and students may have to step into intersections to see if it is clear to cross the street. The widening of side streets that is underway by the city will definitely support our buses that have to navigate streets to complete routes.
The statement we've coined this week is that historic snowfall results in herculean efforts to clean up! Our WPS staff are giving that herculean effort and the collaboration with the city makes the heavy lifting a little less stressful! Moving 34.5 inches of snow is no minor task especially when you multiply that by 44+ campuses!!!
Schools are closed tomorrow and we're hopeful that the extra day for both the schools and the city to improve travel and access will allow us to open schools on Friday. I will make that determination tomorrow afternoon. The forecast for additional snow tomorrow night through Monday has us watching forecasts very closely!
Continue to be safe as you travel to and from and as you continue cleanup efforts in your homes! Please feel free to contact us should you have questions.
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