Our First Snow Delay of the Year!

Today, January 17th, 2024 marks the first snow delay of the school year! Most students agree that this was, in fact, one of the most exciting days throughout the whole year. All tests were canceled, due to the shortened 25-30 minute school periods. 

Due to hazardous road conditions, most districts on Long Island announced a two-hour delay. The ice resulted from below-freezing conditions (about 16-17 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight, causing slippery road ice. Junior Tylar Johnson expresses how the snow delay was “a much-needed break and the roads were so icy that I felt unsafe being on them”. 

While most people agree that the district made the right decision, some claim that the roads yesterday were even worse and that school should have been canceled/delayed on the 16th. On the morning of January 16th, some roads had not even been plowed and were just as slippery/unsafe as they were this morning. There were even some car accidents seen on the road that morning, which was frightening for new drivers or seniors. 

There is some controversy in the school regarding the choice to not have any built-in snow days this school year, and why that happened. Perhaps there was no snow day on the 16th to avoid going to school an extra day, since there are no built-in snow days. The issue of no built-in snow days is definitely up for investigation and debate. Some speculate it’s because Long Island doesn’t get much snow anymore, but others aren’t opposed to the choice. Tylar Johnson feels as if it’s better because “no built-in days means that if we don’t have any snow days, we have days off instead”. 

How did you feel about this delay? Do you think that having no built-in snow days should be a topic up for discussion?