Niles Community Schools Superintendent Richard Weigel said it isn’t often that he makes the decision to cancel school a day in advance.

But the combination of heavy snowfall and bitter cold temperatures made that decision an easy one this week.

“I can’t have kids waiting outside for a bus for who knows how long,” Weigel said. “It’s just too dangerous to do that. While we want to make sure kids are getting as many instructional days as possible, the safety of our children is always the priority.”

The recent snowstorm caused the Niles, Brandywine and Buchanan school districts to close schools Monday, Tuesday and today.

The decision to close school is normally made the day of the closure, usually between 5:30 and 6 a.m., Weigel said. However, area superintendents made the call the day before in all three cases.

The Niles area received around 13 inches of snow from Saturday night to early Monday morning, according the National Weather Service. Temperatures reached as low as -14 with wind chill values as low as -38.

“We knew it was going to be bad out so we made the call fairly early, which is appreciated by parents and residents because they can make their plans ahead of time,” said John Jarpe, Brandywine Community Schools superintendent.

The superintendents from the three neighboring Berrien County schools consult one another before making a decision to close or stay open. They also receive input from their respective transportation directors.

“It is a really excellent collaboration… making sure we are working together to make the best decision in a reasonable amount of time for the children,” Weigel said.

Districts can cancel school a maximum of five days due to weather before they are required to make up the days off.

Jarpe said they’ve had four weather-related cancelations this school year. Schools were closed Nov. 18 because a strong thunderstorm knocked out power throughout much of the Niles area.