School and winter weather

Recently I read complaints in the paper about school being canceled due to the weather. These folks were complaining because, as they stated, they "had no trouble driving on the roads."

May I offer a word of defense for the school administrators who must make these decisions? Currently being involved in education, though not an administrator, I see the no-win situation they are in when it comes to making a weather decision. The "rule of thumb" most follow is a common-sense approach that most of us learned long ago -- that is, err on the side of caution. School days can always be made up in better weather at the end of the school year; children's lives lost in a weather-related accident can't!

And speaking of common sense (or maybe in some instances, the lack of it) many parents allow their children to come to school in bitter cold weather wearing shorts, T-shirts and/or flip-flops and no coat. A stuck bus or one involved in an accident in such cold puts kids at risk also.

While I personally have had differences on other things with school administrators, on the weather issue to cancel school, no matter how slight, I back them 100 percent!

RICH BEHRING, Cape Girardeau