SPOKANE, Wash. — A whole lot of snow could make a mess of the commute in Spokane on Thursday morning. Meteorologists expect this could be the largest dump of snowfall in Spokane so far this season, with four to eight inches in the forecast.
With that much snow on the way, parents will be watching their phones on Thursday morning for news of any school cancellations or delays.
Ahead of the storm, Spokane Public School is sharing details about how it makes the call to cancel or delay school.
SPS has a Weather Alert Team that starts working the night before a major expected snow event. That team includes district leaders and officials from Durham buses.
At 3:00 am, Durham supervisors start driving school bus routes on the north and south sides of the city. They make reports and send recommendations to the district leadership.
At 5:00 am, the SPS superintendent and communications director hold a briefing where a final decision about the district’s status is made. If there will be a cancellation or delay, the district starts the process of notifying parents and staff.
How to know if there are Spokane Public School changes
The district will notify parents and staff in several ways:
- Alerts sent to families using the district’s notification system, including texts, calls, and emails.
- Update posted on spokaneschools.org
- Update posted on SPS Facebook page and Twitter
- You can also get the updates on Up with KREM and on our school closings page on KREM.com.
Weather makeup Days
If SPS decides to cancel school because of the weather, the day will need to be made up. State law requires the district to be in session for 180 days.
The district currently has three weather/emergency make-up days built in the school calendar on Jan. 31, Mar. 14 and June 20.