Snowy school day for students in Creswell, Oregon

“I was excited for a snow day and that I could hang out with my friends,” said Proulx.

On Thursday morning, Proulx got the snow - but not an official snow day off from school.

Despite a dusting of snow across the region, the Creswell School District had schools operating on schedule and buses were on time running on snow routes.   

Creswell was just one of two school districts in Lane County that remained open Thursday after a storm left a thin blanket of snow across most of the region.

The Siuslaw School District in Florence also operated as usual.

In Creswell, students began showing up to school as the weather began to worsen. By mid-morning the storm had picked up dropping fresh powder on roads and sidewalks.

 Proulx said he was in computer class when he heard an announcement over the intercom.

“They said ‘everybody needs to call their parents to see if they can get home’,” said Proulx.

Creswell School District Superintendent Rick Stuber didn’t officially cancel school but gave students the option to go home.

For many parents that created a problem because bus service had been canceled.

“It’s hard for a lot of parents out there because some people are working and not able to come back to pick them up,” said Proulx’s mother Carol Proulx, a substitute teacher at Creslane. “It’s just been a really weird, confusing morning.”

 Although school was not officially canceled as of 11 a.m. some parents told KVAL  they were told by some teachers that it was.

“School wasn't canceled,” said Superintendent Stuber. “Parents are free to pick up their children if that’s what they want but it was not canceled.”

Stuber said he’s been criticized for not canceling classes. Many parents argued the roads were too dangerous to get kids to school.

Stuber said he ran and drove surrounding roads early Wednesday morning and that they were safe, but he said that safety changed as the storm move south and its effect intensified on the Creswell area.

Stuber said he made the best decision he could with the information he had early Thursday morning.

“I’ve heard everything from conspiracy theories to politics as to why I insisted on having school,” said Stuber. “If anyone has some insight to offer I would take it. We should have probably gone with a two-hour delay, but I don’t know if given the conditions at 5:45 or 6 that that would have really made any sense.”

Stuber said some parents supported keeping school open because of a number of furlough days the district has experienced.

He said other parents argue that since so many days are being cut, that cutting one more wouldn’t make much of a difference.