It was another day of an empty parking lot and school at Beaver Local Schools as the district canceled class for the ninth time this school year.
The main roads that wind through the 144 square miles that Beaver Local covers are clear, but one trip onto some of the side roads, and it's not hard to see why they have to call off classes more than most districts.
"But the back roads of which the buses cover, most of them are one lane," said Supt. Dr. Sandy DiBacco. "They're not that wide to start with, but when there is not snow, there is a culvert on the edge of the road, that if a bus is coming a car can always go to the side a little bit. But the piles are pretty high right now that they can't do that."
Ohio allows for only five calamity days, and everything after that must be made up. So the district will go beyond the scheduled last day of school on May 27 to complete their year.
DiBacco said that is a small price to pay for keeping the district's children safe.
"Until I was out in the area, you could see how difficult it would be for sometimes a car, let alone a bus, on regular roads," said DiBacco. "You just can't jeopardize children's safety. I could never live with myself if something happened to a child on a school bus."
So many days off does have an impact in the classroom, especially in the high school, where sophomores are preparing to take the Ohio Graduation Test in early March.
"That's not far off," said DiBacco. "And it's not that we're teaching the test, but there is material between now and then that is relevant to that OGT test for these kids. And getting them prepared, and mentally prepared."
The district is hoping to get back to class on Friday.
