For those of you criticizing the Janesville District- Yes cars and buses could get around this morning. Late morning was a different story. Many sidewalks were very slippery, and the majority of school aged children walk. Many teachers live in various outlying communities,such as Madison (where they got 7 in of snow), as well as smaller communities where the only way to get to Janesville is on county roads that will be drifted over by 4pm today. I commend our district for thinking of the safety of its students and staff. Will we have more snow days? Maybe, and yes, this was our one "freebie". At least this year we have time between the end of the school year and summer school so there will be no Saturday make up days! Just be grateful that our school aged children, as well as our commuting staff members were safe today.

JimPl - back in the early 90's when I attended Whitewater, we had the same thing happen. One of the worst storms and like -20 temps. The UW Madison even closed, but Whitewater didn't. Needless to stay nobody bothered going to class because 3/4 of the professors didn't even show up! Probably the same time you were referring to.

also, due to the nature of their business, not every business posted their closing on WCLO

not every business that is open today is operating with full staff, nor with the staff as originally scheduled for today.

If it was that icy why are businesses open? The roads were just slushy during the morning commute. Also, doesn't it put parents in a tough spot when school closes? All daycares closed too. Don't see too many parents leaving grade school kids home alone.

Janie, I wish Clinton School District could figure out a way not to close early! It puts all of us parents in a bad position, with work and everything else.

ski1357: You must be the antagonist for this discussion. JSD never closes school early,and for good reason...too many kids would either have no way home or no supervision once they reached there. Many younger kids have no key to get into their home/apartment. Walking may be an option for some, but not all. Some schools are on or near busy streets...who wants a 1st-grader crossing Milwaukee Street alone?

And for today, it is the ice, not the amount of snow.

It wasn't the snow. It was the ice. The roads were supposed to be the worst near the state line. I know in Beloit schools can't close early because we would have to talk to each parent before sending any students home. A lot of students / parents don't have working phones.

Good to see Janesville schools closed for a whole 2 inches of snow. I remember the days when even the buses that brought the "country kids" were on time with 2 inches of snow. What a joke, closing school on a day like today. What are parents to do with children when school closes for minimal snow and they still have to go to work?? I think the school district overreacted today. If it got bad enough then they could have closed early.

I am taking a snow day and I'm not driving to UWW for classes today. My safety is more important than my education. I am a safe driver, and have a clear driving record. I am not taking any chances on the road today.

futureteacher, UW-Whitewater has a long-standing reputation for not closing down due to weather. Several years ago, I was a student there. The first day of the Spring semester, we had heavy snow, high winds, and temps around -20 with the wind chill. They were, quite literally, the ONLY school open in the entire county that day. A friend and I were commuting together and it took us almost 90 minutes to make what was normally a 25 minute drive. When we got there, we found out that most of the classes had been canceled by the professors individually, even though the school as a whole was open. This was way before the internet was commonplace and we had no realistic way of knowing the classes were canceled. One professor had one of his assistants post a note on the classroom door that said something like, "If you made it to class today, you're braver than I am."

gremmmiser
I signed up for text alerts through Channel 3000 and knew at 4:50 am..

Leave it to the Clinton School District to call off School early yesterday at 2pm, talk about putting parents in a bind! The person that checks the roads in the county that makes the call to send the kids home needs to have their head examined!

On the other side of the weather fence, UW-Whitewater has not yet cancelled classes. Unfortunately, this leaves any of us students with children in a bind. We are required to attend all classes with points being taken for absence. Some classes do not accept "excused" medical excuses. " If you miss 3 classes this semester, 10 points will be taken from the 120 total that determine your final grade." The closing of schools needs to be consistant and timely.

Thanks Gazette for having the correct closing information! WKOW-TV had vague information for Janesville--"No After School Care," whatever that means. The school district web site also had zero updates, though most other districts had a note on their home page. At least I just got up early and didn't make my way in to school today!