Luke Rector ‘28, Photo Editor
Monday, Jan. 26, was the South Lyon Community School’s (SLCS) seventh snow day during the 2025-2026 school year due to exceptional snowfall and issues with technology, surpassing the six day limit by one. This has left many students wondering about how these snow days will be made up in the later parts of the school year.
The first three “snow days” unexpectedly came in the early fall. The district was compromised via a cyber attack and was forced to shut down school for three days while the matter was resolved. The next couple snow days were not as notable and just occurred as they do every winter, until there was a snow day on Friday, Jan. 23, what would have been the final day of exams for high school and some middle school students. The number has been steadily building up into the seven as seen today with January having a total of 103.75 inches this year, the highest since 2004 and the fourth highest ever in Michigan since 1890 according to Michigan Tech.
Initial reactions from staff and students to these days off were positive, but with the limit being exceeded, worry has been spreading through staff and students. A large portion who regularly attend school have been giving this subject active thought as many of the students have also been wondering if the school year will have to be extended, and if so, by who?
The large number of snow days have left many wondering how exactly snow days are called and by who? The snow days are primarily called by Oakland County Superintendents. In regards to how they decide what day will be a snow day, Superintendent Steve Archibald said in an interview, “A group of Oakland County superintendents meet virtually with a meteorologist usually 24 to 72 hours prior to a forecasted weather event that may present conditions which could be problematic for the commute to or from school.” He continued, “We are typically most concerned with what the conditions will be like during arrival and dismissal and will they create potentially dangerous conditions for staff and students during their commute to school…The process is perhaps more involved than some people may think.” Archibald himself has claimed to go test the roads in the early mornings if he is unsure as to whether to call a snow day or not. The snow day process is clearly much more complicated than most students think, a lot more work goes into calling a snowday rather than just looking at the forecast for the night evidently.
Though the snow day limit may have been surpassed, this doesn’t prevent students from enjoying their snowday. Many students will often do stereotypical winter activities such as sledding for example. Students and staff also enjoy spending time with friends and family during these snow days. Many students and staff who have younger children or siblings often spend time with them during the days off.
It is not only the students who have been enjoying the snowdays; however, the staff has also been enjoying their time off. While staff has to make plans for the student body most of the time, not being in the school allows for a greater amount of freedom with their time in between and allows them to take longer, more substantial breaks.
With the cyber attack days causing the district to lose three snow days, there may be a chance to get them back. The district may potentially request for the State Superintendent to forgive these days as they came from unique and unforeseen circumstances rather than the chilling cold and snow that snow days are usually for. If those days were to be forgiven by the state, the district would have only used four of their six snow days, allowing for more snow days that are inevitable throughout this month and potentially even March.
Superintendent Archibald explained how the cyber attack days impacted the snow day schedule and how the district plans to appeal them: “The three [cyber attack] days when we were closed associated with the ransomware do count against the six “Act of God” days we are granted each school year. We are able to request an additional three days from the Michigan Department of Education if we exceed the annual allocation of six days. We will make that request once we feel weather related closures are behind us for the school year.” Because the most recent two snow days were a result of nationwide winter advisory, the state may potentially be more lenient with the appealing process.
With the increased number of snow days this year it may be easy to think that the possibility of further snow days this year is lost; however, Archibald said, “There is still enough winter left that [we are] not ruling [further snowdays] out. We will continue to assess the weather conditions and make our decisions regarding a school closure consistent with how we have in the past. Safety is the primary reason for calling a snow or cold day, not the number you have already called.” There is still a very good chance that if the current winter conditions persist, we will have more snow days throughout the coming few months.
If the state chooses not to appeal the cyber attack days, Arhcibald explained that students may have to stay for additional time later in the year: “The potential exists that we could have to make up days and hours missed for any closures beyond six for which we aren’t granted a waiver. We will cross that bridge if/when we come to it.”
With the increasingly dangerous amount of winter weather, it is important for everyone to remain safe on the roads if snow continues to fall, and at this rate, it likely will. Stay inside if it gets too cold and be sure to drive carefully on the way to and from school.
Lyon Life 