Advance Planning Allows Schools to Delay Starts

Cooperation between the Police Department and school administration saved the district a snow day today.

The Wyckoff schools were able to hold a 90-minute delayed opening this morning despite a general practice that normally would force the district to cancel school at the sign of inclement weather and dicey driving conditions.

Had the district been forced to cancel, it would have had to use its last snow day, Superintendent Dr. Janet Razze said.

The district is forced into an all-or-nothing situation due to the inability to guarantee crossing guards will be at their 16 posts if the school administration decides to monitor weather conditions and open late.

Police Chief Benjamin Fox said several of the guards are generally not available later in the morning due to other commitments. Furthermore, he would rather not have to assign police officers to the job to replace the guards.

"If it's a weather issue, we can't necessarily assign patrolmen... we have other things going on."

However, the track of Wednesday's storm and strong likelihood of difficult situations this morning allowed the police to arrange for coverage in advance. 

Fox said he received a request from Razze on Wednesday to hold a delayed opening today after Wyckoff schools were canceled in the face of near white-out conditions. 

"We spent a lot of time on the phone," Razze said. "Ben Fox and I worked hard on this."

Fox said his department contacted the regular guards and four substitutes Wednesday to ensure that they would be able to handle the task later this morning. Initially, he was two guards short but was ultimately able to get a guard at all posts without having to reassign any police officers.

"I said 'I'll cover a school post if I have to,' " the chief said.

The vastly improved road and weather conditions allowed the district to go ahead and hold classes today. 

"It worked out really well. We were fortunate the storm ended when it did," said Razze, who thanked the chief, guards and township for their assistance. 

Generally, on bad weather days Razze has to start her day at 4 a.m. to compile information on the storm in question, road conditions, bus schedules, etc. The superintendent then joins a conference call with her counterparts in neighboring districts where they share information and reach a decision on what to do about school.

Today was no different, even with the alert about the delay going out to parents Wednesday night. But by morning, the shining sun made clear that safety would not be compromised by holding classes today.

"I'm glad it worked out for them," Fox said. "I had no problem at all arranging it. I was glad to have been able to work with the school district."

However, today's delay doesn't necessarily mean the district will have the ability to hold delayed openings in the future.

"It was the nature of what it was and when it was requested," Fox said.