Students were released early this afternoon in a staggered dismissal, starting at 1:30 p.m.. Prairie Village received upwards of four inches of snow today, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Chief SMSD Communications Officer David Smith explains that the decision not to switch to a plan B day — a snow day —was made under the inaccurate predictions of the NWS and early circumstances.
“We were out at about 4:30 a.m. checking road conditions,” Smith said. “Both conditions of the road when we were out, and the forecast [of] when the snow would come and how much snow we would get were different [from] what we experienced later on in the morning.”
Senior Rachel Davis saw five separate accidents on her 15-minute drive to the Center of Academic Achievement this morning. There was a quarter-inch of fresh snow on the ground covering a sheet of slick ice.
“I was on 75th and Roe, I was sitting at the red light and it turned green," Davis said.”The tires were moving but my car wasn’t. “I literally just sat there at the intersection for like three minutes crying. I was freaking out.”
If a bystander didn’t get out of his car to push Davis’ car, she would’ve been stuck “indefinitely,” according to Davis.
Marketing teacher Mercedes Rasmussen experienced a drivers’-side-impact at 75th St. and Metcalf, likely totaling her Jeep.
“There’s no reason [for the district] not to gear on the side of safety,” Rasmussen said. “Especially when you have thousands of kids in a district that are driving and teachers coming from all over the KCMO area to come to work.”
SM East students had a staggered early release at 1:30 p.m. with no after-school activities, according to the SMSD website.
SM East Principal Jason Peres sent out an email alerting parents of the change after restricting seniors from leaving the campus for lunch.
“We understand the weather creates inconveniences for many,” the email read. “Student safety is our priority, and a staggered release helps us with that endeavor.”
Additionally, the district released an email explaining the decision to release the students early, emphasizing the need for buses to have more time to navigate side streets for student safety.
There have also been reports of multiple school bus crashes at Indian Hills Middle School, according to seventh grader Griffin Jones.
“We were going to one of our last stops, and we were turning onto a street where a few cars had slid out,” Jones said. “We started to slide out, and then we, like, tapped against another car, and we were just stuck in this big [pile] of cars.”
Updates to follow on smeharbinger.net.
Related
Great article! As a tournament player, strategic thinking is key-just like finding the right tools. AI Tool helps cut through the noise with curated, optimized solutions for any need.