County schools delay, cancel Wednesday classes

With a winter storm expected to bring inches of snow and sleet Wednesday, Jacksboro ISD, Bryson ISD, Perrin-Whitt CISD have all decided to cancel or delay classes.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for most of North Central Texas, which helped Jacksboro ISD determine the need to cancel their classes for Wednesday, Feb. 5.

“We were invited by the Jack County Emergency Management Coordinator, Frank Hefner, to sit in on a National Weather Service - Fort Worth teleconference to get the latest information from those guys,” JISD Superintendent Dwain Milam said. “They’re forecasting two plus inches of sleet accumulation starting around midnight tonight.”

He added the state does a good job of keeping the main roadways passable, but he said busses off on county roads, which do no receive the same treatment.

“We also have to consider not all of our drivers are veteran drivers, we have younger drivers, 16, 17, 18 year-olds that may not have the experience driving in these conditions, so we want to keep them safe,” Milam said.

The superintendent added the district currently has enough bank minutes, that the day will not need to be made up.

Tuesday night’s basketball games at Tolar have also been pushed up with the Junior Varsity game starting at 4 p.m., Varsity Girls at 5:30 p.m. and the Varsity Boys playing at 7 p.m.

“We’re trying to make sure those busses get in before this stuff hits,” Milam said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Byson and Perrin-Whitt school districts will begin classes at 10 a.m. Wednesday with bus routes running two hours late, according to their superintendents.

The superintendents added they will continue to monitor the weather into the morning and will notify the public as soon as possible in the event of a cancellation.

Perrin-Whitt will also have an early release at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7, to allow students to attend the funeral of teacher Jo Brumfield who died due to flu complications.

The Bryson-Perrin basketball games were pushed up Tuesday evening with the girls taking the floor first at 5 p.m. and the boys following in the Bryson gym.

The Jack County Courthouse has also announced they will be closed Wednesday due to inclement weather.