Getting to school can be a difficult task when all you see is snow and ice. Luckily, Camas School District (CSD) superintendent Dr. John Anzalone and his team are keeping students safe during the potentially hazardous weather conditions that winter in the Northwest could bring.

Students find that getting to school can be stressful and require lots of vigilance.

“The roads get really icy which makes it hard to drive,” said Camas High School (CHS) freshman Gigi Woodruff.

Transportation is definitely a struggle for people who live in areas that tend to receive more snow.

“I live on Prune Hill and when it gets really snowy, they end up closing off my roads, so it’s kind of hard to get off my hill,” said senior Katrina Le.

To ensure our safety, all schools in the CSD may either be delayed or canceled. This decision is not an easy one, and requires lots of effort and thought from principals and superintendents. 

“The first thing that happens is we get a weather report from a gentleman named Phil Volker,” said Anzalone.

Phil Volker is a former meteorologist who now runs a company called ERF (Extended Range Forecasting). Every day, Anzalone and his director of transportation, Tami Allison, receive a detailed weather report for the next day. They will then have a discussion about what steps to take next.

“We have 4 teams of drivers,” said Anzalone. “We send people out in teams of two, and for safety reasons, they go out in four-by-four vehicles where they cover 4 different points of Camas.”

At about 4 a.m., the drivers check the weather on Livingston Mountain, the East, the West, and the South. They look for snow, ice, or anything that may be dangerous for people trying to get to school. Anzalone wakes up 45 minutes later and receives a call from Allison with updates from the drivers.

“Tami will get me Phil’s recommendation, she’ll give me the update from the drivers, and then she gives me her recommendation,” said Dr. Anzalone.

Communication with other school districts within the area is something that Anzalone has prioritized in his work. He will get reports from the neighboring schools regarding the weather conditions. Washougal shares similar weather patterns with Camas, so Washougal is the district he reaches out to first.

Anzalone then shares this information with the principal supervisor of CHS to notify the staff.

“The only downside is sometimes the weather can change between 6 to 8 a.m,” said Anzalone.

Volker and his company help Anzalone to predict the upcoming weather. Usually, if they see temperatures warming up before 10 a.m., they will call for a 2-hour delay in school. They do a second weather check at 8 a.m. to ensure that this is the right decision. If the weather doesn’t show any signs of change, they will cancel school.

There are many people who work together to make sure that Camas is a well-informed and safe environment. The process of deciding whether to have school during inclement weather is a long but necessary one, as it ensures that every student is safe.