Parkway School District is experiencing a shortage of salt due to the extreme weather and greater than average snow falls in this winter season. MoDot, Missouri’s Department of Transportation, is essentially out of salt after the last storm. This may cause the sidewalks to be more slippery, affecting after-school activities and general safety around the school.

“This isn’t just a Parkway West thing, it’s a Parkway School District thing, a state of Missouri thing. It just makes us be really careful. If activities are occurring in the evening and there are icy sidewalks, we have to err on the side of safety,” principal Jeremy Mitchell said.

The next shipment of salt is due to arrive later this week, but the Salt Barge on the Mississippi is experiencing weather-related difficulties. An order has been placed, but currently there are only 100 tons of road salt at the school’s disposal, which will only support one storm.

“The river passage ways have been difficult, but I know that we’re next in line.  Our facilities department coordinates all that. They have not updated us as to where we stand on that,” Mitchell said.

Currently, Parkway is using a mix of sand and cinder in lieu of road salt. It is not as effective as salt, but it is also not harmful to the environment and it does melt some of the ice as opposed to none of it.

“I think salt does a slightly better job of chipping away at the ice, so [sand] is not as effective and you have to use more to gain the same amount of effectiveness. It’s not the best, but it’s better than nothing,” Mitchell said.

It is unclear what choice Parkway will make if another major storm occurs before the next shipment of salt arrives. Sand and cinder will presumably not melt enough ice to make the roads and sidewalks safe around Parkway West if it receives another snow storm like last Wednesday’s.

“For next week, there does not appear to be any storms, so we’re hoping that the next shipment will come in the next five to seven business days,” Mitchell said.