Storm Lake Schools Cancel Classes March 16 Due to Icy, Hazardous Roads

A mid-March storm blanketed Buena Vista County roads in ice, prompting Storm Lake Community School District officials to cancel classes for all district schools on March 16. The cancellation was posted to the district's official website and broadcast on the district's live feed.

The closure came just two days before the Storm Lake Board of Education is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the 2026-27 school calendar, a session that will bring the district closer to a final decision between two proposed versions that differ primarily in how winter break is structured.

Superintendent Dr. Stacey Cole has told the board that one version of the 2026-27 calendar adds two school days before Christmas, while the other extends the holiday break but pushes the last day of school back by two days. Graduation is set for May 16 under both versions. A draft that briefly listed May 17 as graduation has since been corrected.

Cole noted that the district's newer approach to professional development, which ties PD days to high school trimesters, limits how significantly the calendar can shift in either direction.

The superintendent also raised concerns about a separate statewide proposal that would expand mandatory "dead weeks," periods when school facilities must remain closed to students. Cole argued those restrictions hit communities like Storm Lake especially hard, where families have fewer alternative spaces for youth activities during extended closures. She said the district already sees increased student instability during long breaks, and that cutting off access to school facilities could deepen that problem.

The public hearing on the 2026-27 calendar is set for March 18.