Including Tom Boasberg, superintendent of Denver Public Schools.
DPS wound up calling off classes today, but it did so much later than normal.
At least Boasberg said he was sorry for not announcing the decision sooner. Here's a letter sent to DPS parents and posted on the district's Facebook page.
Dear DPS Community,The Facebook responses to this post have been mostly positive. Here's one example:
I would like to apologize for our late notice in closing schools this morning. We know how important these decisions are, and we take them very seriously. The most important factor is the well-being of our students and their families. Whenever possible, DPS tries to keep schools open to serve our students and families.
This morning's road conditions, however, proved significantly worse than predicted, with a significantly higher degree of ice and snowpack, and we did not believe that the roads were in a safe enough condition for our buses to run safely or for parents to drive their kids safely. In addition, predictions for this afternoon's weather, with higher snowfall now predicted, present similar concerns for the trip home from school.
We strive whenever possible to make these calls the night before in order to give families more time to plan. We did believe last night that we could safely keep our schools open, and that is why we did not make the call to close last night. Again, I apologize for the late notice.
Sincerely,
Tom Boasberg
Superintendent
Thank you for the apology and for making a great call and keeping us all safe at home.However, at least one parent thinks DPS needs to do better in the future:
I, too, applaud your decision to close schools today. However, if safety is your main priority, decisions like these need to be made in advance of 6 a.m. Families need to line up childcare. Many teachers leave their homes early. Kids wait for buses. There was nothing different in road conditions at 4 a.m. than at 6 a.m. Please have consistent protocols in place, and please find ways to notify families who do not watch the news in the mornings.Consider it a passing grade — but just barely.
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