How Does the District Decide to Close/Delay Schools?

Monitoring — when inclement weather is forecasted, district staff monitor the NOAA weather website for estimates about precipitation and expected conditions and temperatures.

On the morning of potential inclement weather issues:

4:00 AM — at least two district staff members drive area highways and roads to assess conditions.

4:30 to 5:15 AM – First Student, Inc. staff drive two or three Pendleton School District bus routes to assess conditions.

4:30 to 5:00 AM – a district staff member consults with the Pendleton Police Department shift leader to ascertain what conditions around Pendleton are currently.

5:45 to 6:00 AM – district staff makes the decision for school that day with one of these options:

• On-Time Start
• On-Time Start with modified bus routes
• 2-HOUR Late Start
• No School

Notifications – if there is a Late Start or No School, the district sends out the information to staff, students and families via:

• Robo phone call to parents’ phones
• Posted on district website & Facebook page
• Sent to regional media outlets – newspaper, radio and tv

Extended weather event – if the inclement weather issues may continue into the next school day, district staff begin monitoring at 1:00 PM that day through the next morning, when the evaluation cycle begins again.

When making inclement weather decisions, district staff consider many factors, including students waiting at bus stops, students who walk to school, accessibility of student drop off areas and multiple bus routes inside and outside of Pendleton city limits, which include varied terrain and sometimes differing precipitation amounts and conditions.

The Pendleton School District’s main priority is student and staff safety when determining if schools can operate on a regular schedule on any given day.

If you have questions about the district inclement weather policy, please visit our website or call the District Office at 541-276-6711.

Thank you for your continued collaboration in helping us provide a quality education for Every Student Every Day in our district.

Kevin Headings
Superintendent