NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — While some school districts have already cancelled classes for Friday, many families in Western New York are still waiting on a decision.
2 On Your Side spoke with a superintendent in Niagara County on Thursday afternoon about how he decides whether to have a snow day.
"As the day proceeds on, there is relatively no chance that if we are to close school, and that's still an if in Niagara Falls, we would not have a remote day. So that window has closed," Niagara Falls City Schools superintendent Mark Laurrie.
So if Laurrie with Niagara Falls City Schools cancels class for Friday, it will be a traditional snow day. Ideally, he would like to make that call by 6 p.m. Thursday, and 8 p.m. at the latest.
There are two reasons he doesn't like to wait until morning.
"Ease in dissemination of information and to give parents the optimal amount of time to make any child care arrangements that they need to for the following day," Laurrie said.
This storm, though, is proving challenging for superintendents in Niagara County.
"We're going to wait as long as we possibly can to make that decision, and as of right now, it looks like the models show a late Friday arrival for the heaviest snow in Niagara Falls, which in turn allows us to get a school day in safely," Laurrie said.
They also have to take something else into consideration with Friday being Friday.
"That's the day we do our backpack and food distributions for so many needy families that have it. And it's important to be able to disseminate food to those who need it. Never at the risk of safety, but it's also part of the consideration that goes into making these decisions," Laurrie said.
A reminder that the Buffalo Public School District, the biggest district in Western New York, will not have school on Friday.