Parents Given Short Notice on School Closing

By Charles Bassett, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Children throughout the metro spent Thursday at home due to the freezing temperatures outside. Several districts made the closing call early, but in Edmond, many parents had already gone to bed when the decision was made giving them short notice to rearrange schedules Thursday morning.

Thirteen-year-old Michael Nihn was already dressed and out the door when he found out classes at all Edmond schools were canceled.

"I was glad, but then it would have been better if I didn't have to wake up so early, just stayed in bed," Michael said.

Michael's mother had to rearrange her schedule to make sure he wasn't home alone, but unlike some parents, she wasn't upset with the late notice.

"The administrators, they can see circumstances that we just don't know about," said Mary Nihn.

And the circumstances are what school district officials said lead to the closure.

"As the weather changed over the evening and we had this sleet and this ice forming as our people went out driving, we found the roads were, very, very slick and hazardous," said Brenda Lyons, Edmond Public Schools.

Lyons said this would have been a big problem for buses trying to pick up children in rural areas. So they made the decision around 10:30 Wednesday night to close the schools. For some parents, it was morning when they got the notice.

"We're sorry that parents may have been inconvenienced, if they didn't get it on time," Lyon said. "These are always some of the most difficult decisions that school districts make. Some people are mad if you have school. Some people are angry if you don't have school," Lyon said.

Edmond has three snow days built into its calendar so Thursday's snow day will not have to be made up at the end of the year.

Edmond schools will be back open Friday. Power outages shut down Yukon and Deer Creek Schools Thursday, but both will also be open Friday.

See more school closings and openings for Friday