Ahead of a highly anticipated solar eclipse, school board members at Warren County Public Schools will decide during their Thursday night meeting whether to cancel classes Aug. 21.

In a districtwide email Wednesday, Superintendent Rob Clayton expressed concern about busing students to the southern part of the county for optimal eclipse viewing, which will occur about 1:30 p.m. and close to dismissal time for middle and high school students. Additionally, traffic and heat conditions are concerns because buses do not have air conditioning.

The board will vote on the decision during its meeting at 7 p.m. at the district office at 303 Lovers Lane.

“With all of these unknowns, my recommendation to the Board will be to cancel school on Aug. 21 and consider a make-up day on either President’s Day or at the end of the year,” Clayton wrote in the email. “Although I desperately want our students to take advantage of this outstanding learning opportunity with us in our schools, I am convinced that the potential risks outweigh the benefit.”

For Richard Gelderman, a professor and director of Western Kentucky University’s Hardin Planetarium, school is the best place for students to be since it provides the safest environment for eclipse viewing. Staring at the sun without eclipse glasses can damage the viewer’s eyes, he said.

“To have the supervision of teachers is where I would want my kids to be,” he said. “This is not impossible to do.”

During a board meeting last month, board members discussed the logistical challenges of having school that Monday. Ideally, district officials would like to bus students in the Warren East High School area to school in the Warren Central or South Warren High School areas. This is because the northern part of the county beyond Barren River lies outside the path of totality, which is a narrow strip of land that allows for viewing a total solar eclipse. Those outside the path will only see a partial eclipse.

Although the entire eclipse process will last about three hours, the sun will only be completely obscured by the moon for roughly 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

Jason Kupchella, the district’s chief operations officer, said getting students through traffic in time for dismissal could be a problem. What’s most concerning are all the unknowns about what to expect that day.

“We have heard estimates that range from it’s going to be busy that day to it’s going to be gridlocked that day,” Kupchella said of the traffic. Dismissal time for middle and high school students is 2:30 p.m. with a small number of elementary schools also sharing that time. High temperatures are also a concern, he said.

If the district did decide to cancel school, Kupchella said all the education about the eclipse would be done up front and the district would distribute a requested 18,000 eclipse viewing glasses provided by WKU’s Confucius Institute.

“This is a once in a lifetime event,” he said. “This is something that the people that view this will most likely never see it again in their lifetime.”

Theo Wellington, who works as eclipse event planner for WKU, plans to speak at the meeting along with Gelderman.

Wellington encouraged those who live in the path of totality to stay home and host parties for their friends.

“If you already live in the path of totality, you are already blessed,” she said.

The eclipse coincides with the first day of classes for WKU students, but classes will be canceled during the eclipse. Wellington said there will be a party on WKU’s South Lawn for the university’s students, while an estimate 5,000 area K-12 students will witness the eclipse in L.T. Smith Stadium.

Viewing cards and other merchandise can be purchased at the Dezign Tees store at 1019 State St. or online at dezigntees.com/hardin_planetarium_eclipse_store. Sales benefit the WKU eclipse events.