It’s a school morning. The alarm is about to beep. But there’s a knock on the bedroom door first. “You don’t have school today,” mom says.

“Sometimes I wonder why we have a snow day because there won’t be a ton of snow, but we still won’t have school,” sophomore Nina DeMercurio said.

A couple factors come into play when considering a snow day, according to superintendent Dr. Christine Johns. She and her team check: The amount of precipitation; if there is snow, sleet or rain; the temperature; when snow will arrive; if roads and parking lots are plowed; if bus engines will start.

“The decisions that are made when there is a weather situation, first of all, it’s the safety of the students and all the school personnel, first and foremost. The second part of it is, we take a snow day very seriously because you are required as part of your job right now to be in school,” Johns said.

The team who drives the road will assess the slickness of the roads and if they are plowed. They will look at city roads first, then at the county roads and lastly at subdivision roads, according to Johns.

“I think we all like a snow day every once in a while, but making it up at the end of the year and going until the end of June, I don’t think will go over very well— particularly when it is beautiful outside,” Johns said.

By state law, there is a six snow day limit per year, according to Johns. If the district has more than six snow days a year then they make up that time to meet the state requirement, either with extra days or minutes tacked onto each day.

The final decision on whether a snow day is called rests with the superintendent. While some snow days are determined the morning of, Johns said, they try to call them the night before, if possible. It is easier on parents to find childcare the night before as opposed to the morning of, according to Johns.

“The idea is we want you to be in school and we want you learning,” Johns said. “However, if there is a day that’s not safe, or a day that’s questionable, then we will call it.”