As the winter season has quickly crept upon us, students have become eager for possible school delays and cancellations. Surprisingly, though, school has been cancelled twice already but not because of snow, but rather a lack of power. Freedom has had two power outages in recent months; the first occurred Oct. 27 when an electrical transformer in the school was damaged as a result of a severe storm. The second, on Nov. 19, was due to an automobile accident that took out a telephone pole and electrical lines. The question everyone automatically asks is, “will we have to make these days up later in the year?” Well, these instances could be considered ‘state of emergency’ situations. Each district is required to attend 180 days of school, but the Department of Education is willing to pardon a maximum of three emergency days per school year without the need to make them up. Freedom Superintendent Dr. Ron Sofo, while staying within the department’s guidelines, is in charge of making school cancellation decisions when conditions become dangerous or pose a threat to the safety of students. Yes, he makes a phone call the day-of, but he does not get the final say about whether the day must be made up. Afterward, Dr. Sofo must write a petition letter describing Freedom’s situation in hopes that the department will make an exception to the 180-day rule. It may not seem absolutely necessary to call off school when there is a power outage, but when you think about it, so much of the average school day depends on or requires electricity. Without the typical lighting, the hallways would be dim. Elevators would fail to work. Meals for students could not be prepared in the kitchen, and laptops would become essentially useless. School could simply not function properly without electricity. The overall safety of students is the biggest factor in the decision. “We cannot conduct school safety without power,” said Dr. Sofo. “[The decision to cancel school] is always made purely on safety reasons.” Yes, there is a potential for the school to lose money when days are called off; however, the welfare of students, in Dr. Sofo’s eyes, is more vital. “Whether we lose money or not is not the main concern,” Dr. Sofo said. So what does this mean for students in terms of possible upcoming snow days or delays? Well, the state doesn’t give the district the same exceptions when it comes to inclement weather, since slick roads and typical icy conditions are not considered emergency situations. An excessive amount of snow days will call for make-up days, but two-hour delays do not count against the students.