On Monday, Dec. 1., Kansas City Metro was hit with the first snow of the season. According to Fox 4 digital producer Alyssa Mueller and Fox 4 Reporter Jonathan Ketz, 40 schools in the surrounding area were closed on Monday or dismissed early. Blue Valley was not included in that list. Teacher Mike Hilbert described the difference in the decision to years prior.

“Historically, when we have picked up four or five inches of snow, yeah, they close the schools,” Hilbert said.“Last  Monday should have been a snow day where the students weren’t in school.”

The decision to keep schools open led to an uproar among Blue Valley students. One of these upset students was junior Paige Cote who was rear-ended on her way to school.

“I definitely think it should have been [a snow day],” Cote said.

According to the Blue Valley Schools website, there are numerous pieces that are taken into consideration when they decide if schools should close or not. Regardless, Cote did not think that the decision was in the students’ best interest.

“During that day, I don’t think it was [safe],” Cote said. 

Hilbert, who lives in Lee’s Summit, about 20 miles from BVN, described his experience with the road conditions that Monday.

“The roads were not good. They were snow-packed, they were slick, they were slushy and so I would say the roads were a struggle to drive on,” Hilbert said.

Additionally, Hilbert explained his thoughts on new-drivers being exposed to the winter-road conditions.

“I think it was not the greatest conditions for anybody, let alone new drivers, to be driving in,” Hilbert said.

According to digital producer Olivia Johnson, Overland Park got 4.4 inches of snow and many roadways around the KC metro area were covered in inches of snow. BVN did a staggered dismissal in an attempt to minimize the effects of an icy and crowded parking lot.

“And the staggered dismissal, I don’t think helped at all,” Cote said.

The staggered dismissal left five minutes between senior and junior release, and released sophomores and freshmen both at the same time. Other schools in the area did a similar staggered dismissal, including the Shawnee Mission School District. Hilbert described what he heard from BVN students who drove on Dec. 1.

“I think, as far as I know, I talked to a lot of students, that everybody made it home safely, but there were a lot of people slipping and sliding, and being able to slide through intersections,” Hilbert said.

On the evening of Dec. 1, Blue Valley announced via Instagram that all schools would have a 2-hour delayed start on Tuesday. The post amassed 1,649 likes and 650 comments, including a comment from Cote. The comment read, “Got rear ended by a teacher on my way to school but ok!!!” Cote’s comment has 166 likes and seven replies from other students, all of which find humor in the dangerous situation. After being rear-ended, Cote’s parents picked her up from school.

“My parents had to come get me from school, and on our way home, even they were sliding around a lot and stuff,” Cote said.

 Cote shared her message with the district and their decision to not call-off school.

“Your target audience of drivers is 14-18 year-olds who aren’t as prepared for winter roads as adults are, and it should have been canceled,” Cote said. “And a lot of [students] got in car accidents and hurt. [It] was not a good idea,” Cote said. 

Cote further explained that the two-hour delay on Tuesday didn’t seem necessary.

“I don’t think [the delayed start] made that much of a difference, but at that point, most of the roads had been cleared, so I don’t think we really needed the delay, but it was nice,” Cote explained.

Hilbert had a differing opinion from Cote.

“When we went two-hour delay, [it] made a huge difference,” Hilbert said.

He further explained the benefits of having a two-hour delay on Tuesday from a different perspective than Cote.

“When I came over from Lee’s Summit, number one, the traffic was so much lighter on the freeway. So that made it easier. But number two, the sun had come out in the morning, and the roads were very, very much improved from where they were,” Hilbert said. “I would assume, going forward, we’ll have maybe some more of those [two-hour delays].”