CHERRY TWP — Moniteau School District high school students were already on their way to school about 9:20 a.m. Friday under a two-hour delay when district officials decided to cancel school.

“We had made the decision to go with a two-hour delay, and we felt good about that based on road conditions,” said Superintendent George Svolos. “A squall came through and made conditions very concerning.

“The decisions are always based on the information I have,” Svolos said. “The communication is pretty constant with the bus company. They are out and about, and they know the roads and they do a nice job checking the roads.

“That process starts early, about 4:30 or so, and we monitor the weather stations and see what they are predicting. Sometimes they are spot on and sometimes they are not.”

Campbell Bus Lines of West Sunbury provides transportation for the district’s nearly 1,400 students. Svolos said buses were on their high school routes when the decision to cancel was made.

He said Dassa McKinney Elementary School students were not at their bus stops because their starting time is more than an hour later than the high school students.

Although many districts have a telephone or text notification system for families, Moniteau does not.

“We’ve had discussion on that, but we have media that we use and our website,” Svolos said.

Svolos said on Friday some students were already at the high school when the cancel decision was made and students called and texted each other.

“We talked with the ones that were here,” Svolos said.

“We would not send them home if they could not get back in.”

Staff offered to contact parents or guardians for students who had a concern about returning to their homes.

“Everyone returned home safely,” Svolos said.

Other school districts in the county had two-hour delays.

“I made the decision based on what I thought was in the best interest of the students,” Svolos said.

George Pry of Concord Township, who has children in the high school and the elementary school, said, “They decided it wasn’t safe enough and they sent them home.”

He said his child’s high school bus stopped and waited for a decision.

“I’m more concerned with their safety on the road than anything,” Pry said. “I think they made the best decision.”

“Safety is first and foremost,” Svolos said.