Follow Up Information - School Closing 1.6.2026
Please see this FOLLOW-UP for information regarding today's school closing.
Greetings Maple Valley Families,
I wanted to give you more information regarding our decision to close school today.
First, an apology for the lateness of the closure. We never want to put our families into a last-minute adjustment to your day, but we prioritize safety overall and we know our kids are safe out of this weather.
Next, we are the only district closing, and it is due to some very localized conditions for us. The roads turned quickly to ice, and it coincided exactly with our morning route's drive time, which made the decision late, but necessary.
When we assess roads, we go to several key points in our district to check the traction or status of snow drifts. This morning in those locations, we could not conduct panic stops safely, and even in a four wheel drive vehicle, the sliding and loss of vehicle control were really dangerous.
We understand where your home is; the conditions may be fine. Our district covers 86 square miles, and that makes strange weather conditions like this particularly difficult, but again, we think of our buses, our bus stops, our foot traffic, and our novice drivers in conditions like these, and all of them were simply not safe this morning.
I wish we could plan for weather closures with more notice to you all, but sometimes, these are the cards we are dealt and today was a tough hand to play. Our hills and valleys we love are not safe today.
I also know some of you are having challenges with robocall notices. We are working to improve our systems and troubleshooting why some folks are notified immediately, and some are not. If you are either not receiving any notice, or are receiving it more than 30 minutes after other people, please call your school and leave a message with your name, student name, cell phone number and email so we can check your information in our system.
Remember in the future to check the local tv channels, the school website, and our Facebook pages if your bus is late or you haven’t received a robocall . We post to all of these locations as quickly as we can for your notice.
In appreciation for your understanding,
Dr. Katherine Bertolini
