True: Tale of 2 school buses sliding off road Feb. 4 untrue

KINGSPORT — Did you read online or hear about two Northeast Tennessee school buses that slid off the road with students aboard and had to be moved by tow trucks a week ago Wednesday morning? Kingsport City Schools Assistant Superintendent of Administration Andy True did. But he said the story, which spread like wildfire on a bitter cold Wednesday, Feb. 4, via social media and word of mouth simply isn't true, as previously reported by the Kingsport Times News. "There was no wreck," True told the board in a meeting livestreamed online and available for archived viewing. He also said no tow trucks were used to get the buses out of ditches and no buses crashed, although snow and ice on the roads over which buses traveled, one near Cooks Valley and the other near Adams Elementary School around Rock Springs, made the roads slick. He said the bus drivers made the correct and common sense decision to stop and call for help, which he said Kingsport Public Works, KCS and the Kingsport Police Department provided. His comments came during Tuesday night's KCS Board of Education meeting viewable on the KCS YouTube channel. True and Chief Student Services Officer Jim Nash presented the board a 14-page slide show titled "Inclement Weather Review." It outlined the public school sytem's inclement weather procedures. TRUTH VS. UNTRUTH "A rumor will circle the earth before the truth gets out of the bed," board member Todd Golden said during the True-Nash presentation. The incidents occurred on the only day KCS held school that week. So far, of the 13 banked snow days the system has by adding 30 minutes to each school day, the system has taken four days, has five others designated for professional development and four remaining. "All of those students made it to school," Nash said. True said eight or nine students were on one bus and two were riding the other bus. True said the Morristown-based National Weather Service has multiple briefings for the region's school systems on inclement weather days, as well as a 2 p.m. webinar where school system officials can ask questions about forecasts for specific area. What's more, Nash said the NWS Point Forecast gives a detailed hour-by-hour forecast on specific areas during wintry weather, as well as some severe weather that occurs in the spring and fall. KCS also stays in contact with local television station meteorologists: Dave Dierks of WCYB Channel 5 and Mark Reynolds of Newschannel 11, True and Nash explained to the board. With a consideration of the forecasts "heavily leaning toward safety," True said the school system constantly reviews and updates its inclement weather practices. "We tweak them every year," True said. TIMING IS EVERYTHING So if it's 9 p.m. that night before or 3 a.m. on a day of wintry weather in the forecast that could wreak havoc on roads, what are True, Nash and other KCS officials doing? They said KCS has a self-imposed deadline of 9 p.m. to make a schedule change decision. "If we have not made a decision by 9, we are going to wait until the morning," True said. In that case, True and Nash are up about 3 a.m. to start road condition checks and gather updated forecast information to see if a morning schedule change is needed. The self-imposed deadline to make that call is 5:15 a.m., Nash and True said, because some buses start rolling about 6 a.m. "Generally, we are up and about on the roads no later than 3:30 a.m., usually 3 to 3:15 a.m.," True said. The "snow team" includes Superintendent Chris Hampton, Transportation Supervisor Tommy Starnes, True, Assistant Superintendent Rhona Stringham and Nash. Marybeth Kench in communications and Dobyns-Bennett radio station advisor Jeff Hall also help True get the word out once a decision is made to alter the schedule. True said Starnes is the only one in the group who has driven a school bus, so his opinion has more weight. True also said the condition of the parking lots and sidewalks at schools is considered in the decision making. If a decision to change the schedule is made, True said it is communicated to television and radio, social media, email, texts and the school system website at 5:20 a.m., followed by automated phone calls to families on School Messenger at 5:45 a.m. Also, individual school phones are rolled over or transferred to a weather line, and Saint Dominic Catholic School, which usually follows the KCS lead on school schedule changes, is notified. Notice of the change also goes to First Warn Tri-Cities and is broadcast on WCSK 90.3 FM and the Dobyns-Bennett radio station. More information about weather-related KCS schedule changes is available online at https://www.k12k.com/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=345306&type=d&pREC_ID=753718 by going to k12k.com through the Families tab and then by clicking on Inclement Weather. "Thank you. I know it's not an easy decision to make," BOE Vice President Melissa Woods told True and Nash. "I didn't know all this detail, and I've had kids in school for 18 years." Board President Brandon Fletcher put it this way: "In my circles, the saying is if it ain't Andy, it's ain't True." True provides the voice for announcements of school cancellations and schedule delays or early dismissals. SUPERINTENDENT COMMENTS Superintendent Hampton said that the school system gets feedback from students and others complaining about going to school when winter weather looms, but he said those folks need to keep one thing in mind: "We exist for the purpose of educating children" so "When it's safe to come to school, we will come to school." However, he said if parents or guardians feel going to school would be unsafe for their child, they can call the school and get the student an excused absence for that day.