District works to keep sidewalks, doorways clear

Cody High School Equus

Making it to school safely when road conditions are dangerous is a priority for CHS students and and staff alike.

But keeping the school district’s sidewalks and doorways clear might not be as easy as one might think.

“We do the best we can; there’s no way to make sure every area is secure,” said Greg Victor, Park County School District No. 6 Director of Maintenance.

Problems with cost and environmental issues play a part into how much area is covered with salt and sand. Victor said the projected cost of salt and sand in November 2010 was $1,617. The actual cost was $2,670.

Environmental issues also might play into which areas are covered.

“The Department of Environmental Quality doesn’t require salting and sanding for the reason that salt and sand are mild contaminates,” Victor said.

According to the Park County School District No. 6, Policy on Salt/Sand/Chemical Application for Weather Events, problems with the environment or cost should not take precedence over the safety of people frequenting the sidewalks.

But how much effort is being taken to maintain the sidewalks?

“I probably put down 100 pounds of salt the other day,” said CHS Head Custodian Frank Hayner in reference to a mid-December 2010 morning.

Victor said the plan for determining how much salt or sand is as follows: First, the custodians and maintenance office will meet at about 5 in the morning to review the weather conditions. Depending on the type of weather, they will either salt, sand, or shovel. They will then meet again every couple of hours to see if the conditions have changed. If the workers cannot make it to an area before students start arriving at school, they would block the areas off with orange cones to warn that it’s an icy area.

“Covering every area is difficult,” Victor said. “If the custodians can’t make it to the student parking lot before cars start arriving, we can’t do anything to the ice under the cars already there.”

Due to geographical differences, salt application differs with different location. The district’s sand/salt policy discusses the amount, timing and effectiveness of chemical treatments and how it varies with the weather. Also figured into the equation are rapidly changing conditions, the site specific conditions such as the number of walkways and parking lots, or population differences such as high school versus elementary school and geographical differences such as physical locations of schools.

Some students might not feel all is being done to make the sidewalks safe. Senior Alex Rumm fell on the ice on school grounds last semester and said he observed effective treatment in certain areas.

“You can see the salt on more popular places, but you can’t on other sidewalks,” Rumm said. “But students are still walking there. Not every area is being covered and that makes it dangerous.”

Added Victor: “Salt just melts the ice and the water will go to a different location and when it gets cold again, the water will freeze again,” Victor said. “Sand is the one for traction. Salt just moves the ice to a different spot.”

If a student should fall on school property, however, would there be legal consequences for Cody High School?

"Students are going to fall no matter what kind of weather, it happens,” Hayner said. “The school can’t be sued if we do the best we can."