Too cold for school

When temperatures threatened to drop into the teens with wind chills in the negative, Cape Superintendent Robert Fulton decided to make the call to close schools.

“I thought for one day it made sense,” he said.

Fulton wasn't alone, as school districts, charter schools and private schools across the state made similar calls Monday night before the polar vortex hit on Tuesday.

“It was primarily based on the extremely cold temperatures since we have a number of students who walk to school or stand at bus stops,” Fulton said.

Fulton said there is no specific temperature that triggers a call to close school; he expects to open Wednesday when temperatures are expected to rise to the 20s or 30s.

Cape currently has built-in snow days to cover time missed during the freeze, but if more days are missed, Fulton said, they may have to make up the hours at the end of the school year.

“Sure, there are people concerned. We don't make this decision lightly,” he said. “But with wind chills in the negative numbers, we felt it was cold enough to close schools.”