Many of the DHS students and staff shared a universal experience this morning as they waited anxiously for USD 260 to show up on the list of canceled or delayed districts. 

Unfortunately, the hope for a snow day was shattered when school was never canceled.

But this goes further than just not having a day off — was it safe to come to school in these conditions?

“It was very scary and hard because driving down rock past McConnell. There were no street lights,” sophomore Maranda King said. “I had to rely on only my headlights to see and I couldn’t see much of anything with only them.”

But even the kids who get dropped off were worried during the ride to school. 

“It was not safe and was nerve-racking with the roads being very slick,” sophomore Ella Gardener said. 

Many people had to modify their trip in order to safely make it to school. 

“It usually takes somewhere between five to six minutes but it took me just over 20 minutes this morning,” math teacher Tracy Schmitz said. “I left earlier today because I wanted to avoid as much traffic as I could.”

Aside from time difference, there was the possibility of danger for anyone on the roads. 

“It was very very slow because my neighborhood is going down to the main road, there’s an incline and I was worried about ‘am I going to slide right into rock road?’” Schmitz said. “Luckily I was able to not do that.”

A lot of students stayed home due to the many risks imposed on the way to school. 

“My mom told me I didn’t have to go because we heard there was a wreck and I didn’t want to drive in the snow,” sophomore Emily Yenser said.

One person almost made it to school but ended up turning around and going back home. 

“When we were on Rock, we hit ice and I did a 360 and almost got hit, so we decided it would best if we went home,” sophomore Alixzandria Henard said.  

USD 260 staffers started clearing the parking lot at 10:30 a.m.

“It was pointless to have us come here,” sophomore Lena Lewis said. “It’s more work for them — cleaning the slippery halls and checking out tons of students. It’s dumb.”