Superintendents of the two largest school districts in York County defended their decisions to start school last week during Tropical Storm Debby, even as they heard from plenty of parents unhappy with those decisions.
School social media posts were filled with comments asking why schools would close in Clover or York but not Rock Hill or Fort Mill during the heavy rain and wind. Some angrily questioned the safety of sending buses out during high wind or flood advisories.
“You guys should be getting roasted for sending kids to school today,” Alex Clippard commented Thursday on a back to school post on the Rock Hill district Facebook page.
Districts have closed school in recent years for high winds due to their impact on buses.
Tommy Schmolze with the Rock Hill School District addressed the decision when his school board met Tuesday night. The district works with meteorologists who have equipment at District Three Stadium, while many people get forecasts out of Charlotte that cover the broader region.
The highest wind gust recorded Thursday at the stadium was 26 mph, Schmolze said, well below the 30 mph sustained winds or 40 mph gusts needed to stop buses.
“When they’re giving us reports,” he said, “it’s based on what’s happening literally in Rock Hill.”
The biggest issue was flooding at the two main entrances to Rock Hill High School.
Schmolze said there are lessons the district can learn, but that some roads in the community flood any time heavy rains hit. That’s a concern beyond the school district’s ability to fix, the superintendent said.
District administration makes the decision on when to shut down facilities along with input from meteorologists and emergency response personnel from York County. Despite the storm, the Rock Hill district had 88% of its students and 96% of its staff able to make it to and from school safely on Thursday, Schmolze said.
“With those conditions I felt it was safe to come to school,” he said. “With that said, any parent at any time has a right not to send their child if they don’t feel it’s safe. Any staff member that feels I can’t travel in this, we’re going to work with them.”
Fort Mill superintendent defends actions
Superintendent Chuck Epps with the Fort Mill School District also addressed the weather decision when his board met Tuesday night. He gave a similar account of making the final call with input from weather and emergency response professionals.
“We would never place anyone in harm’s way if travel conditions were unsafe,” Epps said.
Epps heard people blaming the school board Thursday, he said, but it’s an administration decision and not a school board one.
The bus safety in wind rules come from the state Education Department, and they were revised just days prior the storm, Epps said.
If forecasts show winds blowing faster than buses can handle before 6 a.m. on a school day — Epps said they didn’t on Thursday — the buses won’t run. After 6 a.m. the district goes into a monitoring phase.
“If the forecast predicts winds reaching these levels, we will not operate buses,” he said. “If these winds are reported while buses are in transit, they’ll be instructed to park safely and shelter in place until it is safe to continue.”
Parents also wanted to compare with districts that did close, Epps said, but there were a couple of trees down in Fort Mill while York and Clover saw flooding in areas.
Storm of unusual events
Some might describe a series of unpredictable, unusual circumstances coming together as a perfect storm. Debby’s impact on Rock Hill and Fort Mill schools would qualify. Consider:
▪ Until last school year, districts across South Carolina uniformly started on the third Monday in August. Debby would’ve come and gone before teachers or students returned, if districts were still on that calendar.
▪ Traditionally, York County and often Rock Hill region districts collaborated for more uniform two-hour delays or school closures. Now districts start their school years at different times and tailor weather decisions to local forecasts. That model creates a situation where parents might see neighboring districts closed and wonder why theirs isn’t.
▪ Area districts also have become more willing to keep students home for weather since the COVID pandemic due to the emergence of virtual learning it created. Districts can quickly transition to online lessons without having to make up the day later in the calendar, as they would have prior to COVID for snow or weather days.
But while Clover, York and Chester County were a week into their school year and had the option to go virtual on Thursday, Rock Hill and Fort Mill couldn’t make that call on the first day back for students.
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▪ Debby’s rain was unprecedented. One York County weather station reported more than 7 inches of rain, believed to be a record for the area. Students starting their senior years this fall in Fort Mill haven’t had heavy rains on a first day of school from kindergarten until now. Epps, a former district principal and administrator before his 15-year run as superintendent, doesn’t recall another first day like it.
Agree to disagree on weather call
Both superintendents say they get why people wanted schools closed.
Epps made lots of weather calls over the years but doesn’t have a crystal ball to tell him what to do, he said. Some parents were mad Thursday while others were happy their students got to go, he said. Just like some people would be upset if the district canceled for heavy snow.
“There’s just no way to please everybody, and you just have to make the best call you can,” Epps said.
Both superintendents credited their staffs with making the day memorable for students, regardless of the weather, and keeping everyone safe on what was an unusual day.
“Reasonable people could argue whether or not it was a bad or good decision,” Epps said. “But once we got them there and we got them home, it was amazing.”
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