Flights to, from Cleveland canceled as snow continues to fall

Flights to and from Cleveland have been canceled as snow continues to pile up from a lake-effect storm that is expected to stick around until Tuesday afternoon.

Two afternoon flights and an evening flight from Cleveland to the Erie International Airport have been canceled, while a pair of afternoon flights to Cleveland are canceled, according to the airport.

Traffic continues to flow on local roadways, but at a slower pace, because of snow that began falling on Sunday night.

Local snowfall totals as of midmorning include 11.2 inches at Canadohta Lake, 3.2 inches in Meadville, 5 inches at Colt Station, 4 inches in North East, 3 inches in Waterford and 1.4 inches at the Erie International Airport, according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland.

Corry Area and Millcreek Township school districts closed their schools today because of foul weather. Erie Day School also canceled classes.

St. Paul Preschool also has closed for the day.

Wattsburg School District transportation is not running today due to weather conditions.

Nonpublic transportation is not running in the General McLane and Fort LeBoeuf school districts.

The weather service this morning issued a lake-effect snow warning that is in place until noon Tuesday. Areas in the snow belt could get 6 to 12 inches of new snow today and another 4 to 8 inches tonight, forecasters said.

Read Also → Flights to, from Cleveland canceled as snow continues to fall

Central New York students are eagerly waiting to see how the first big snow storm of the season shapes up

Central New York students are eagerly waiting to see how the first big snow storm of the season shapes up. It could mean an extended vacation for many of them. The decision to close schools on Tuesday will start well before most of Central New York is awake for the day.

The decision depends on two factors: Road conditions and temperatures.

The North Syracuse School District is always one of the first to make the decision. Its bus drivers have three runs each and they’re on the road by six a.m.

In order to make the proper decision, the acting superintendent starts making calls by 4:20 a.m. He’ll speak with his grounds and transportation directors to see how the school driveways and parking lots are looking.

Then he’ll call the DPW for advice. The roads must be safe.

But it also can’t be extremely cold outside. After all, kids have to stand outside waiting for the bus. In North Syracuse, when the wind chill reaches 17 degrees below zero, that’s when the district will delay or cancel school depending on how long those temperatures are expected to last.

North Syracuse will make the decision no later than 5:30 a.m. Liverpool expects to decide even earlier, around 4:45 a.m.

We’ll track any school closings tomorrow morning. You can get the latest on snow and closings anytime by CLICKING HERE.

You can also sign up for school alerts on your phone by CLICKING HERE.

And as always, tune into the Morning News beginning at 4:30 a.m. We’ll be sure to update you on air as well.

Read Also → Central New York students are eagerly waiting to see how the first big snow storm of the season shapes up

D.C school closings unlikely to be widespread in 2012

After some signals to the contrary, it is likely that no more than a few of D.C.’s many under-enrolled public schools--if that many-- will be proposed for closure at the end of the academic year.

One of them is River Terrace in Ward 7, which was on the chopping block last year before Chancellor Kaya Henderson granted a one-year extension to see if it could grow its population. But River Terrace remains the system’s most sparsely enrolled elementary school, with just 137 students as of October. Students would attend nearby Thomas Elementary. The proposed closure, outlined Friday in the D.C. Register, was first reported Sunday by The Washington Times.

On a couple of occasions in the last year, Henderson warned that DCPS has too many buildings for the number of students it serves. The city operates more than 40 schools with fewer than 300 students, more than half located in Wards 6, 7 and 8.

But any closures on the scale of the downsizing led by former Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee in 2008 is at least another year away.

Instead, Deputy Mayor for Education De’Shawn Wright says the city will spend the first half of 2012 in a round of discussions with DCPS, the D.C. Public Charter School Board (PCSB) and community stakeholders on how to align the city’s school system to create more “quality seats” in areas of the city where there are none.

The goal, according to Wright, is to develop a plan that would trigger major changes effective at the beginning of the 2013-14 school year. If it actually happens, it would be the first serious joint effort by the public and public charter sectors to envision what the city’s school map should look like.

Wright says the discussion will draw on — but not be driven by-- the findings of the IFF school capacity study he commissioned to identify communities in greatest need of more education options. After a two-month delay, caused by a combination of personnel issues at the Chicago consulting firm and Wright’s unrealistic initial timetable, the study is due to be rolled out next month. DCPS also has its own big picture study in the works, from Educational Resource Strategies (ERS), a Massachusetts non-profit that advises school systems on how to better manage and spend their money.

In an e-mail, Wright said he hopes to use February, March and April “to develop a robust portfolio of options” in concert with DCPS and PCSB, and then engage the public.

Under this scenario, a plan would be ready by mid-year.

Read Also → D.C school closings unlikely to be widespread in 2012