The weather in Colorado has been extremely cold this January, ranging from -15 degrees to the low 20s. The extremely cold weather conditions caused everyone to continue checking their phones to see if they had received a call or email about a delayed start for Tues., Jan. 21, but schools surrounding Eaton in every direction had a delayed start for the school day, besides Eaton.
The community is in a debate about why the school didn’t have a late start. Some were grateful for the lack of disruption to their day, while others were concerned about the hazards of the ice and temperature. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration guidelines states that if the air temperatures are -10 degrees or colder at 6 a.m, schools may consider delaying their start time by two hours. According to the weather app, the temperature was -13 at 6 a.m. on Tues., Jan. 21, which is beyond the recommended temperature to consider a delay.
The extreme cold conditions are a major concern for the little kids who stand outside waiting for a bus to pick them up, or even students whose cars might not start because of the temperatures. Justice Aleman, a science teacher at the Eaton High School, said, “If the buses can start they will have school. The only time is if the drifts are really high, it might be too much for them to get to school.”
Everyone has their own opinion on why they think they didn’t implement it, and even the EHS admin has different thoughts about the situation. Zac Lemon, the Eaton High School Athletic Director, said, “One, we are tougher than everybody else. Two, Mr. Tapia makes those decisions and he makes those decisions based on conversations with other school district superintendents. I’m not sure if those schools [that had a delay] made their decisions later after they had told him they weren’t going to.” The community of Eaton thinks that being tough might have not been worth the unnecessary danger.
Students who attend high school are always looking for a way to have a shorter school day. Raelynn Bartel (26) said, “It sucked having school when no one else did, and I’d rather be sleeping in, then getting up in the freezing cold.” The hallways were filled with complaints and comments about how Eaton was the only one in school this early.
Eaton High School’s decision to maintain its regular start time despite the severe weather conditions has sparked diverse opinions in the community, but the school’s administration remained confident in their decision to hold off on the delay and continue the normal schedule.