It’s the eagerly anticipated notification students await when they notice the weather taking a turn for the worse. They often stay up, wondering when they’ll receive that message saying, ‘classes canceled due to snow.’
Students are often unaware of the careful considerations that go on behind the scenes to cancel classes for a snow day.
Bill Rinkenbaugh, vice-president of Student Services, said that the responsibility for the decision falls on his shoulders. However, before reaching a final decision, he consults with numerous other individuals, including those in public safety, facility management, school superintendents from around Butler County and the president of Butler CC.
“The first thing being considered is the safety of faculty, staff and students. We have a number of students and employees that commute to Butler locations, so travel is essential for them to get to class,” Rinkenbaugh said. “A class can be made up. Individuals that lose their life in an automobile accident while trying to travel in adverse winter conditions cannot be recovered. So, safety is the highest priority.”
Because of the unpredictable nature of Kansas weather, making a final decision can be challenging. Normally, the decision is made between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on the morning of a potential snow day. However, in certain instances, such as a considerable overnight snow event resulting in significant snowfall, the decision to cancel classes might be made the night before.
“Typically, I’ll get up around 3:00 a.m. to start checking with individuals on conditions and decisions being made. There are other factors that we consider in times of winter storms,” Rinkenbaugh said. “If students have childcare issues because their children’s school is closed because of the weather, that creates issues for our students. If all of the schools in our area are closed, that will impact our concurrent classes and the ability for those students to attend their classes.”
Students and faculty members are advised to use their judgment in determining whether they can attend class when the college is open.
“Some individuals are more comfortable driving on snow than others. I do not want any student, faculty or staff member doing something that they do not feel comfortable doing to get to the campus,” Rinkenbaugh said.
All campus emergency situations, including weather related closing, are sent out through the GrizzlySAFE App. The app is free to all Butler students, faculty and staff. This app sends out notifications to users in less than 30 seconds.
“The GrizzlySAFE app is very important for students, faculty and parents to have,” Deputy Chief of Police/Assistant Director of Public Safety Chanaka Samaranayaka (Sam) said. “If you download and sign up for the app, it will send you text messages, phone calls and emails with alerts regarding campus.”
While students may view a day off from school as a break, there is a significant amount of consideration and thought behind it.
“Whatever the decision, please don’t shoot the messenger,” Rinkenbaugh said. “As I have said, it’s not an exact science and Kansas weather is unpredictable. We make the best decision we have based on the information that we receive from a number of entities.”