“We want to make sure that, number one, our kids are safe, but number two, we also know that the best place for them on any given day is going to be in our school buildings, learning and getting their lunch day meals and those sorts of things and interacting with kids,” said Craig Heath, superintendent of Mentor Public Schools.
Heath said he doesn’t usually make decisions based on forecasts. He prefers to live in the moment.
“I’ll be up early…kind of driving around just to see what it’s like out there as we make our decision,” Heath said. He’s told News 5 he’s out on the roads around 4 a.m. on questionable weather days to see first-hand what the situation looks like. He drives around Mentor’s East Side while the assistant superintendent checks out the West Side, and then they report back to each other. With 7,000 students and 1,000 staff to consider, Heath likes to put himself in their shoes. That means not always utilizing the four-wheel drive in his truck.
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