Board member questions early dismissal process

On Sept. 8 and 9, students went home early due to extreme heat

Boyertown Area School District’s recent decision to dismiss several schools early due to the extreme heat became a topic of discussion at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

On Sept. 8 and 9, students at Junior High West were dismissed at 11:15 a.m.; students at Washington, Colebrookdale, Earl and Pine Forge elementary schools were dismissed at 12:15 p.m. Afternoon kindergarten in the four buildings was cancelled. All other Boyertown schools operated on a regular schedule.

During board comments, board member Clay Breece asked what criteria is used to send children home for a half-day.

Superintendent Richard Faidley said the threshold used was the heat advisory warning, which includes temperature, humidity and heat index.

“We access multiple sources and make decision in the best interest of the students,” said Faidley.

Last week was the first time under the current administration that students have been sent home due to the heat.

“It was a decision that administration mentioned over the course of many days,” said Faidley. “When it came to the point

where the experts advise to be extremely cautious – I made the decision to dismiss early in the non-air conditioned buildings.”

He explained how he made that decision to take students and staff out of harm’s way.

Breece was concerned about the decision’s timing and asked when the public was notified about the early dismissal.

Faildey said it’s a complex process; he made the decision at 6 a.m. on Thursday. “It can take a while to reach all of the families.”

“What can we do to give better notification?” asked Breece, adding that 6 a.m. is hard for parents. “We need a better system to alert students.” He recommended making the decision a day or two early so parents wouldn’t be scrambling.

“We’d love to give advance notice,” said Faidley, explaining how it’s not always possible since weather shifts, particularly in the winter. “We will work as a cabinet level team to inform parents as quickly as possible.”

“We knew heat advisory was coming. We should have known — it was reported all week long. We probably could have alerted them earlier based on reports,” said Breece. “It’s important we have a threshold. Everybody was caught off guard, I think.”

Faidley mentioned the process underway to install AC units in all buildings to provide a better learning environment and that this is a discussion that should continue in a Facilities Planning Committee meeting. Later in the meeting, Stephen Elsier, chairman of the Facilities Committee, said there is a four-year plan in place to add air conditioning to the other schools.