When Snow Days Close School Facilities to Weekend Users

Before the schools superintendent decides to call a snow day or delayed opening, Barbara Duncan says she travels to Holmdel personally in her front wheel drive vehicle to test road conditions first hand -- often in the pre-dawn darkness. 

With her husband at the wheel, Duncan dials up colleagues in towns like Colts Neck, Marlboro and Matawan to compare notes. She checks in with the police and public works departments. And she makes a final decision with William Balicki, the director of maintenance. 

"Holmdel is so unusual geographically, because of the hills," said Duncan. Even if other schools decide to open in flat towns like Hazlet, travel might not be safe in Holmdel along roads like Longstreet, Red Hill and Holmdel, she explained. 

Sometimes it's a tough call. The central office's decision to close schools on Jan. 7, and therefore close district facilities through the entire Jan. 8-9 weekend to previously booked high school sports teams and the Jersey Shore Chinese School at Satz Intermediate, caused controversy because the weather later improved.

Athletes and coaches arrived over the weekend to find a locked building, according to a report by the Building and Grounds Committee aired at a Board meeting Feb. 2.

Speaking for the Committee, board member Mike Collins apologized for the inconvenience and said it was the group's recommendation that the Board keep schools open on weekends unless weather conditions on those days would meet the criteria for an actual snow day. 

But in discussion at a marathon board meeting that covered many issues and  lasted until 12:30 a.m., Duncan raised the question of who would make the call on the weekends, and whether the Board would be willing to absorb costs associated with opening schools in inclement weather. 

The Building and Grounds Committee, comprised of Collins, Dennis Pavlik, Michael Sockol and Robin Wetmore, meets again tomorrow. The full Board meets on Wednesday Feb. 9. 

Township Committeeman Eric Hinds, citing complaints he'd received about the cancellation of weekend activities, said at a Feb. 3 Committee meeting at Town Hall that he and Mayor Impreveduto will be meeting with the Board on Feb. 9.

They said they plan to collaborate with the Board members on increasing school facility accessibility on weekends. "We want to work with them," said Impreveduto.