After weeks of buildup, a long-anticipated snowstorm struck the Aurora/Centennial area, and it struck hard. Over the course of 3 days, Buckley Air Force Base measured a total of 21.1 inches of snow, one of the largest November snowstorms in Colorado history. However, this record snowfall was not the main topic of conversation amongst students and even staff in the Cherry Creek School District.
On Wednesday, November 5th, students woke up with the hope that they would have the school day off, with around 6 inches of snow falling overnight. To everyone’s surprise, there was no snow day. There was not even a delayed start. This decision sparked outrage across the CCSD community as they began preparing to begin their journey to school.
Even despite the weather forecasts leading up to the storm, the roads were still a disaster when it came time for students and staff to commute to school. The hazardous road conditions lead to many car accidents and close calls, in addition to many slips and falls in the unplowed parking lots. As the snowfall continued throughout Wednesday and into Thursday, people across the school district had hope of delays, if not cancellations. But, again, nothing came. For a second straight day, school was on with no delays. For a second straight day, student and staff lives were put at risk.
Moving into Friday, with snow totals for the next day decreasing dramatically, all hope was essentially lost. However, people were shocked to discover that this was the day that Superintendant Christopher Smith had decided to cancel school. The lack of cancellations or delays across the district during the first two days of the storm raised one simple question: does the district even care?
While it is clear that Superintendant Smith prioritizes attendance and student learning above all, he also would not senselessly put student lives in jeopardy for the sake of attendance. While he may have made a mistake on those two days in November, the superintendent and the Cherry Creek School District does truly care about their students and staff safety above all else.
