Superintendent Del Phillips said school district officials are keeping an eye on the skies, and hoping for plenty of warmer rain over the next 24 hours. Without that, a time frame for returning students to the classroom can’t be decided or announced to anxious faculty, staff, and parents.

“We spent the morning riding and looking and this point we have about eighty percent of our roads that we can’t put buses on,” Phillips said. “Our first concern is the safety of our teachers, our students who drive, our bus drivers, and the parents who are trying to get their kids to school. Some of them still can’t get out of their driveways, so we really need the rain to melt off a good bit before we can get back to normal.”

Phillip said he was surprised to see how poor the condition of some main roads were Monday, even with temperatures well above freezing. Lawrence Bros. and Central Academy in east Panola, for example, remained dangerous and drivable at low speeds only.

“The way the roads are right now, there is zero chance we would be able to run a bus Tuesday,” Phillips said. “All we can do is wait and see what the rain does for road conditions and make another decision tomorrow afternoon. Our teachers and staff are ready to get back to school, I’m ready to get back to school, and parents are ready, too.”

The district’s six schools and many other buildings have weathered the winter storm as well as can be expected, the superintendent said, with no major water line breaks or appliance failures. With the warmer temperatures of Monday, district employees were beginning to clear parking lots and walkways to minimize accidents when school resumes.

“There’s a lot of things for us to get in order but everyone is working together,” Phillips said.  On his list for Tuesday is the removal of piles of snow in front of Batesville Elementary pushed there by street department crews trying to makes roadways passable for citizens. Most of the school’s employees park in those spots now blocked by piles of ice and snow. A block north, the parking lot at Batesville Intermediate remains covered in packed ice, and Atwell Street – the main staging area for buses  downtown – wasn’t safe for loading and unloading students.

“It all depends on the rain,” Phillips said.