John Malloy isn’t an early riser but the head of Toronto’s public school board was up at 4:45 a.m. Tuesday, without the aid of an alarm clock, because of a gut feeling that he would need to make “a really big decision.”By about 6 a.m., before a single snowflake had fallen, Malloy had taken the rare step in declaring a snow day — the third in the last two decades — shutting down the Toronto District School Board, impacting thousands of families.“The safest and wisest thing was to close schools,” explained the director of education, during the afternoon as a storm of snow, ice pellets, and freezing rain pummelled the city. “It was the smart move.”He wasn’t alone in making that call. Several school boards across the Greater Toronto Area also shut down and classes at most universities and colleges were cancelled. There were also disruptions at Toronto’s Billy Bishop and Pearson airports, with flights cancelled. “Closing schools is something we seldom consider,” explained Malloy of the TDSB which is the largest public school board in Canada with 582 schools and 246,000 students. It’s rarely considered because 90 per cent of students live within walking distance of the school, many parents have to work, which can leave some scrambling about what to do with their children, and staff are supported if they feel they can’t get to work safely.The last time the board closed was in 2011, when a storm dubbed Snowmageddon failed to deliver the anticipated wallop, leaving some parents saying school officials had overreacted. Prior to that, there was a snow day in 1999, when then-mayor Mel Lastman called in the army to help clear snow.Read more: Snow and ice pellets to give way to freezing rain as winter storm rages on It’s a snow day. University and college closures announced as city prepares for winter storm.Look south — study finds analogues for future climate of Canadi ...
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