It was 21 degrees below zero in parts of Watertown Tuesday around 6 a.m., right around the time kids are heading to school. 

"When we made the call this morning for the two-hour delay, part of the reasoning for that was yes, it was extremely cold, but it was also going to take a dip and get a little colder," said Watertown City School District Superintendent Patti LaBarr. 

When it gets this cold, superintendents in the North Country need to consider closing or delaying school. For the Watertown City School District, 20 to 30 degrees below zero is just too cold to have kids waiting for the bus or walking to school.

"Some of the times it's cold, we live in the North Country and we go to school. There are some days it is bitter cold and it's unsafe for our kids to be out or it could be due to the snow amount and or the visibility, so there's a lot of different factors that play into it," said LaBarr.

Superintendents say deciding to delay or close school is a case-by-case scenario. Around 4 a.m., they start considering the forecast, the road conditions and the number of kids walking to school before making the call.

"Last week on Thursday, it was minus-32 degrees in this area. That would have been a very difficult day to have school at all," said Indian River Central School District Superintendent James Kettrick. "When it gets that cold, you even have issues keeping buildings warm, so we have to assess that as well."

But in areas sometimes considered the coldest in the nation like Saranac Lake, school must go on, because it's always cold.

"We supply a little breakfast and lunch and a little education in between that so, might as well be with us," said Saranac Central School District Superintendent Diane Fox.

Although the districts have no fixed policy for cold weather and school delays or closures, they all agree that negative-30-degree temperatures put students at risk and would likely result in a snow day.