In the past two weeks we have had two ice days. As if the first one wasn’t surprise enough, the second one just spun the school schedule into more craziness, along with cars and buses on the icy roads.

After the unexpected time off from school, having to make up those days make the days off not as nice, especially since we have to make up the days on holidays and we’ve had way too many “B” days in a row.

By cancelling school, the district kept parents and students off the icy roads, for the most part. The first ice day on Jan. 24 was handled well and everyone received the calls for the late start and then the cancellation of school plenty early. Buses hadn’t gone to pick up elementary or middle school students, and parents on their way to work hadn’t dropped off high school students early. But the real chaos happened on the second ice day.

The standard Round Rock ISD phone call came about 10 minutes before elementary students were to start classes. This first message declared a two hour late start, and if a student was already at school then they would be looked after, but there would be no breakfast served.

At least the cafeteria staff didn’t have to risk getting there, but what were they to do if they were already there, and what about the kids expecting breakfast from school?

When school was cancelled for the day, students at school had to stay there if their parents were unable to pick them up. Therefore, parents could have risked themselves driving on the ice twice, once to try to get their student to class on time and another to pick them up when it was determined there was no school. Parents, buses and students all became a part of the large number of car crashes.

Another down side of the ice days is making them up. By cancelling school we now have to come to school on Feb. 17 and Apr. 18. Both days were once holidays, President’s Day and Good Friday, a religious holiday, and plans may have already been made to be out of town.

Even though the days were nice to have off and people were mostly safe, I don’t think they were worth it. I think on one of the days a late start would have been enough, and then “A” day wouldn’t be so behind.

I understand people were meant to be kept safe, but when we came back to school from the ice days the A/B calendar should have been adjusted to recover at least one of the A days this six weeks.

The icy weather isn’t the school district’s fault and most in Texas aren’t used to driving on ice, but the situation could have been handled better overall.