CHENANGO – Students across the county could be seen enjoying their day off from school yesterday as an icy winter storm covered the area with snow and freezing rain and prompted all eight public districts to close.

The National Weather Service reported that four to five inches of precipitation fell in the early morning hours. Officials continued to issue advisories for the region throughout the day.

The final decision to declare a snow day rests with a district’s superintendent, but it’s a process involving input from a number of people.

Unadilla Valley Superintendent Robert Mackey, who used the school’s first of six set aside snow days yesterday, explained a weather prediction was not the sole factor in deciding to close or delay.

“We do not make decisions solely on weather predictions. We take it into account, along with the history of a particular storm so far, and hold a number of key conversations with the school’s transportation staff, town highway officials and other districts,” he said.

Mackey said Tuesday’s icy forecast made making a snow day decision relatively simple compared to others.

“Degrees of snow fall are one thing, but icy roads make it more difficult. Nothing is really built to travel on ice, school buses not being an exception.”

Mackey said the UV Head Mechanic Tim Mayne was up before 5:15 a.m. and kept in close contact with the Town of New Berlin Highway Department through a shared radio frequency that allows drivers to relay information about roadways as they worked to clear snow from them. The district also contacted other local schools, such as Sidney and Gilbertsville-Mount Upton to share information.