Cullman Co.  first major school district to cancel Thursday, Friday classes

One of the first school districts to cancel classes both Thursday and Friday was Cullman County.

The district’s first day back after the holiday break would have been Thursday.  The Cullman County EMA helped the district make its decision due to sub-zero temperatures expected on Friday.

The Cullman County School District has a unique situation.  It has older school buildings and concerns about heating them plus electrical issues.  After meeting with their EMA, it was an easy decision for the district to cancel classes Thursday and Friday.

If you’ve been following the forecasts, the weather up north has been nasty.  In some places the snow is already several feet deep.  We’re not expecting that here but schools are closing for what could come - icy rain and possibly an inch of snow - that could make traveling treacherous.

Cullman Co Schools Superintendent Hank Allen said, “We travel a lot of miles, a lot of one lane roads, that you have to consider and we have a lot of hills and valleys in Cullman County, so there are just a lot of things to factor in.“

Adding two more days to the holiday vacation at least right now, won’t affect Cullman County’s spring break in April. 

The district was more worried about Friday’s subzero temps then tomorrow.  Thursday was the first day back of the 2nd semester.  It made more sense just to cancel both days.  Fears of electrical problems and the ability to heat older buildings made it easier for the district to cancel school.

Allen said, “Well if you’re going to make a decision, you’re going to make it either early or late and we’d rather make it early. so that’s the approach we take it’s worked for us in the past and we hope it continues to work for us.“

All school related activities are also canceled through the weekend.  Students are to report to school on Monday at 8 AM.

Cullman County has ten thousand students.