On Jan. 16, the Derby school district had their first snow day from the extreme cold winds, dropping to almost 20 degrees below zero.

Heather Bohaty, the Derby superintendent, said snow days are taken seriously, as is the decision to cancel school or not.

“Anytime student and staff safety is involved, this is a serious decision,” Bohaty wrote in an e-mails.

Some students were outraged by the lack of snow day on Jan. 11. The roads were icy, and  it was a slippery morning.

“A variety of factors are taken into consideration to call a snow day,” Bohaty wrote. “In this particular situation we closely monitored severity and timing of the weather.  We, along with neighboring schools districts such as Haysville, Rose Hill, Mulvane and Wichita, all decided to have school based on the conditions.”

The superintendent makes the decision to have or not have school, but she has a lot of help in considering all factors.

“Many individuals, including but not limited to, district administration and county emergency services may help provide insight and expertise to the superintendent in determining if it is appropriate to have school based on certain weather conditions,” Bohaty wrote in an e-mail.

Weather conditions can change at the last minute, so administration usually aims to communicate the cancellation of school as fast as possible.

“In the event that school is (canceled), delayed or dismissed early, Derby Public Schools will make every attempt to notify families as soon as possible,” Bohaty wrote. “We will attempt to make determinations before 6 (a.m.) so families can make child care accommodations.”

Most students took their feelings on the situation to Twitter to reply to Bohaty’s tweet referring to the school days.

“Many people shared their thoughts and sense of humor regarding the decision. I also received some emails from students and responded to each of them,” Bohaty wrote.

She is also aware of the account that was made saying there was no school, but Bohaty’s only Twitter is @derbysupt.

The decision to either make up for the lost school day is up to the Board of Education.

“This will be discussed later this Spring at a Board of Education meeting,” Bohaty said. We will take a recommendation to the Board to not make up the snow day; however it’s ultimately their decision.”