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Re: Snow days are killing us
We're in the same boat as the OP, and we're right outside of Philadelphia.
The problem we're currently experiencing is that many towns have exhausted their snow removal budgets and aren't too keen on paying the amount of overtime required to clear many storms in a timely fashion, which leads to them waiting to try and save money by having the people responsible for Snow Removal on the Roads, and from Bus Stops do as much of the snow removal as they can during normal working hours.
Usually, 816's HS is very quick about removing snow from the parking lots, and when it is done fast enough we are allowed to go into the school and work. Due to District Policy we are not allowed to "work" elsewhere, and we are not allowed to come in until all of the snow has been cleared. (Work as in, work on the robot or do anything that is technically considered a robotics team meeting - though this doesn't prevent Programmers and Designers from working at home)
Also, our head mentor has a 20-25 minute commute to the school, my drive is anywhere between 25 min and 10 min depending on if I'm coming from Home or work, so it's often too dangerous to risk driving to the school if the roads aren't cleared - not to mention that most of our kids do not live within reasonable walking distance of the school.
I guess if we lived somewhere more accustomed to large snowfalls we wouldn't be in this position, but usually anything above 4"-6" is something that they'll close schools over. Also, we don't have the luxury of being able to use snowmobiles like our friends in Canada - though if we could, it would be awesome.
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-Dustin Benedict
2005-2012 - Student & Mentor FRC 816
2012-2014 - Technical Mentor, 2014 Drive Coach FRC 341
Current - Mentor FRC 2729, FRC 708
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