LEWISTON — Yes, it will be bitterly cold on Thursday, but Lewiston schools will be open, Superintendent Bill Webster said.

“Families have the choice to keep children home,” Webster tweeted Wednesday afternoon.

During the day Wednesday, Webster received a number of pleas from students and some parents asking, “’Please call off school tomorrow,’” Webster said. “One parent said, ‘I’m not letting my child go outside when it’s 30 below.’ It won’t be that cold,” Webster said, but he understands parental concerns when children don’t have snow pants or proper winter clothing.

They’ll be warm in school, Webster said. And on Thursday there will be no outdoor recess because of the cold.

“In school, many students would be in a warmer environment than if they stayed home,” he said. “And students get breakfast and lunch.”

Parents have the right to keep their children home from school if parents feel it isn’t safe.

“I’m charged with keeping school open if at all reasonable,” Webster said.

He added that parents worried about their children waiting for the bus should drive them to school, or wait with them at the bus stop. He also advised that children be dressed appropriately in preparation for the bitter cold.

By Wednesday night, there were no announcements from Auburn or other school districts to indicate that schools would be closed. One parent said she was told that all schools would be open and that it was up to each parent to decide whether to send their children.