The Tyrone Area School Board will vote to approve a contract with AccuWeather of State College to give the school administration more up to date information on which to base school delay and cancellation decisions.

District Superintendent Cathy Harlow told the board that regular online weather reports may not be updated for several hours, especially overnight, making it difficult for administrators to make decisions to delay or cancel school.

The service will cost the district $1,760 and provide school administrators with accurate, up-to-the-minute weather updates.

“[Regular] AccuWeather isn’t updated through the night,” Harlow said, “We are up at 4 a.m. looking at weather reports to assess conditions.”

This proposal came about as a result of a February 19th decision to cancel school that caused controversy among parents and community members in the district. Hundreds of comments were posted on the district’s Facebook page questioning the district’s decision not to cancel or delay school that day.

TASD Business administrator John Clark said he looked into other weather services to see if AccuWeather’s was the best.  But Clark reported to the board that no other service offers updates as frequently.

“300 school districts utilize AccuWeather’s updates, including the Altoona Area School District and State College Area School District,” Harlow said, “It’s just another resource.”