With 24 inches of snow measured in the courtyard and outside the D-Pod, attendance was sparse at Park High on Feb. 18. Attendance secretary Adria Rodgers estimated that, by the afternoon, about half of the student body would be absent. As of 12:55 p.m., registrar Lisa Peterson reported that absences were at 64 percent.

Many students questioned why the school district did not cancel school for the day, given that school buses were not running and other area schools such as St. Mary’s and Shields Valley cancelled classes.
There are a lot more factors than what people think when it comes to whether or not to cancel school due to weather, Superintendent Chad Johnson explained when the Geyser reporters caught him in the hallway. In addition to the temperature and wind conditions, he said that the union agreement and staffing factor into his decision to keep the schools open. Park High Principal Cole Maxwell said that it comes down to all four schools in the district, not just Park High. “All or nothing,” Maxwell said.
Some staff members at Park High took extreme measures to make it to school. Last Thursday when drifting snow caused problems for many in Park county, science teacher Julie Lentz had to walk three and a half miles to her house from where she parked when getting home from school. She has chains for her boots to make it through the snow. Living on the Wineglass, she said she has to walk from Albertsons about once a year.
Math teacher Nathaniel Mussetter rode his fat tire bike to school today, as he does every day, explaining that he and his wife, art teacher Sarah Mussetter, share a vehicle. “It’s way more fun than getting through traffic,”he laughed.
Junior Lliam Edwards said he had no trouble getting to school in his truck, although a few students got stuck in the school parking lot.
During second lunch Tuesday, temperatures hovered around zero, with a wind chill of 14 degrees below zero. This didn’t deter some seniors, including Jon Durgan and Stacy Sundling, who said they hoped to get stuck and not have to return to school when they went out to get lunch.
Park county won’t see a break in weather-related trouble any time soon, with wind and drifting predicted later in the week as temperatures near 50 degrees, no doubt causing widespread melting of the two feet of snow that has accumulated.