School districts plan ahead for anticipated snow Thursday

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. -- School districts in the South Sound have already made the call to release kids from school early and cancel evening activities in anticipation of a snowfall.

South Kitsap school leaders are hoping by dismissing school early Thursday that all buses will be back before dark and will have avoided any snow.

With a school district that covers 144 square miles, South Kitsap School District isn’t taking any chances when snow is in the forecast.

“We want to make sure all the students are safe and they are safely at home,” said Jay Rosapepe, South Kitsap South's director of transportation.

Rosapepe said after that after the storm in 2010 that hit Kitsap County they learned the importance of making decisions early.

‘We had an event in 2010 where the snow event happened during the day, and it came on so quickly that we were not getting drivers home and students delivered until well after 6 and 7 at night,” said Rosapepe.

In South Kitsap, the kids will be dismissed two hours early Thursday and evening activities canceled, ahead of a forecast calling for an inch to three inches of snow in some areas in Kitsap County.

“Basically we have to make a decision on the whole district on whether we’ve got snow in one early or ice in another area,” said Rosapepe.

It’s a call this grandfather and school bus volunteer Bruce Quaintance said he appreciates.

“Hopefully everyone gets home safely before it snows,” said Quaintance.

Mom Jamie Patterson feels the same since her eighth-grader Ean rides the bus every day.

“I think it was a smart decision that they made to close early and get us all home safe and get all of our kids home safe,” said Patterson.

South Kitsap school leaders recommend signing up for flashalert.net to get updates for your specific district.

For the latest actions being taken by school districts, go to the Q13 website here