As the nation's eleventh largest school district, Dallas Independent School District serves more than 164,500 students who come from homes where 58 different languages are spoken. Operating with a $1 billion dollar budget, DISD employs 19,234 employees including 10,500 teachers in 218 schools.
27 Nov 2001
WEATHER-RELATED SCHOOL CLOSING PROCEDURES OUTLINED FOR DISD
DALLAS—In the event of inclement weather, Dallas Independent School District procedures call for a decision to close schools to be determined no later than 6 a.m. of the day in question. The district will not hold school if buses are unable to operate safely; if electric service at schools is disrupted; or if natural gas to schools is curtailed. No announcement is made if schools are open for the day.
If a decision is made to close schools, it will be announced through radio and television stations after 6 a.m. Once schools are open for the day, classes are held for the entire school day so as to not inconvenience working parents or disrupt the learning environment.
During the town hall meeting at Adamson High School on Monday evening, Dr. Mike Moses was asked by a parent to talk about calling school during inclement winter weather situations like those predicted for the coming days.
"We do not take the inclement weather and the calling of school lightly, I will say this, we have 72 percent of our students who are economically disadvantaged, many of whom who have parents that work. Calling school is very difficult, but once we make the commitment to have school, it's almost essential that we go ahead and proceed with those plans. Parents make their plans either to go to work or not work depending on our call."
NOTE TO EDITORS:
The procedures for making the decision to close schools begin early in the morning when school administrators in each area of the city drive the streets near the neighborhood schools to check road conditions. Administrators confer with the weather bureau, police department, and gas and utility companies about forecasts, road conditions and available energy for heating the buildings. The administrators report the findings to the general superintendent who makes the final decision to open or close schools.