Parent notification of emergencies and closings

Parents are encouraged to provide the district with current and preferred telephone numbers to ensure they can be reached in event of an emergency. 

In the event of an emergency or a serious threat to safety, the district will notify parents by:

In event of a school delay or closing, the district makes announcements on:

One Call Now Family Profile

Our district uses the One Call Now system to contact you when we have a closing, delay, or other circumstance that affects the school day. The call goes to the primary number that we have on file for your child or children. You can also elect to have additional phone numbers placed on file for us to call.

To add additional phone numbers, follow these simple steps:

  • Click on the link below that reads “Add Contact Info for Vandalia-Butler City Schools.”
  • Enter the student’s last name and the primary phone number.
  • Select which school your child attends and click on “lookup.”
  • Add additional phone numbers and click “submit.”

You can return at any time to add more phone numbers or edit/remove the numbers you have entered.

Please note that you cannot change your primary number on the website. To change your primary number, contact the school that your child attends.
 

 

Calamity Day FAQs

Our district recognizes that the decision to open, close, or delay schools due to weather conditions has an impact on our students and families. As these decisions are made, our top priority is the safety of our students.

How do we make our decision?

When bad weather affects the area, we make the decision to open/close schools or modify the school day schedule based on a careful analysis of all relevant factors, such as:

  • Information on road conditions from our transportation staff, from local road crews, and in some instances from law enforcement agencies. We give careful consideration to the most dangerous roads in the district, which can be treacherous, even if your street looks clear;

  • Amount of accumulated snow and ice;

  • Whether precipitation is expected to continue throughout the day, including weather alerts. We cannot make decisions to delay or cancel school based on a forecast alone;

  • Temperature and wind chill (wind chills at or below -15 °F during key walking and waiting-for-bus times are given special consideration);

  •  Impact on our transportation fleet (school bus diesel fuel begins to gel at an ambient temperature of 0 °F);

  • Storm timing;

  • Building conditions (such as heat, electricity, and water); and

  • Parking lot conditions.

Who makes the decision?

The Superintendent makes the decision, based on the factors and recommendations from the Business Manager, who oversees transportation and maintenance, the Transportation Supervisor, and the Maintenance Supervisor.

When is the decision to delay or cancel school made?

The Superintendent strives to make the decision to close or delay by 5:45 a.m. or earlier so that we can post this information to our website and notify radio and TV stations. Unusual weather conditions may force us to make the decision after this time. Updated postings and notifications will be made as quickly as possible if changes occur.

What happens to scheduled extracurricular activities if school is delayed or canceled?

Extracurricular activities will proceed as scheduled if a two-hour delay is called, but please stay tuned to the district’s website for possible changes depending on the opponent district’s situation.

In the event that school is canceled due to inclement weather, middle school practices and events will be canceled. Varsity practices may take place later in the day if conditions and/or the forecast improve. Varsity coaches and the athletic director are responsible for the decision regarding practices.

Decisions about varsity and junior varsity games on calamity days will be made in collaboration with the athletic directors and principals of the schools involved.

Weekend events also have the potential to be impacted by the weather. If we must cancel weekend events, this information will be announced on the district’s website.