Buncombe County Schools Remain Open Despite Some
BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. -- Despite the snow covered roads and accidents reported in north Buncombe County, school started on time to the dismay of several parents and students.
Several parents called News 13 or reached out to us on social media with their concerns road were unsafe for travel.
News 13 took your concerns to Buncombe County Schools Spokesperson Donald Porter. He said maintenance crews checked the roads at 4:30 a.m, and reported they were OK.
Porter said school officials need to make a decision by about 5:30 a.m. when buses go out. He says at the time they made the best decision with the information available, and he said conditions may have worsened after they decided to open on time.
It's never going to be an easy call, and we're not always going to get it right. But again, with priority being the first consideration of whether or not schools are delayed or closed, a student, parent, or staff member can make the decision to stay home and the schools will work with them, Porter said.
A dispatcher said there were a couple of accidents on the road adjacent to the school. John Vanvoorhis wrecked his car, and was part of a traffic back up.
I was actually on my way to help a friend whose car broken down up the street by the high school, Vanvoorhis recalled. Yea, we both, he got fixed and I got fixed and we're all good to go.
Porter said a student, parent, or teacher wouldn't be penalized for not coming to school in unsafe conditions.
By midday near the high school, almost all the snow melted. But in the morning, some kids could not get to school because emergency crews shut Flat Creek Church Road down.
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