CR Superintendent: 'I'm Sorry'
Council Rock Superintendent Mark Klein wrote a letter to parents apologizing for not delaying school today due to the snow.
Council Rock Superintendent Mark Klein today wrote a letter of apology to parents for not delaying school despite snow and slick road conditions. He said inaccurate forecasts and unpredictable weather patterns caused the confusion.
Klein said over the past three days, he has been on alert for winter weather. However, predictions for today's snowfall were not accurate, causing the district to fail to comprehend the severity of the conditions, Klein explained.
"At 9 this morning, despite three inches of snow on the ground in Council Rock, a major news outlet in Philadelphia was still calling for light snow and wet roads in Bucks County. This week has proved the inexact science of weather predictions," Klein said.
A storm predicted for Wednesday never materialized.
Klein said he takes his responsibility for the safety of the students "very seriously," adding if he had known the extent of today's snowfall, he would have delayed school.
Here is the full text of Klein's letter:
To parents and students in Council Rock,
Once before, I wrote to you with my sincere apologies about a weather event that hit our community in the midst of opening school. I write again, today, to offer these same apologies for the difficult travel conditions this morning.
For the past three days, our team has been looking to the skies for weather events that have been forecast for our area. Despite the forecast for snow, ice and hazardous weather conditions, we have escaped these past two days without any significant snow or ice. Our routines begin at 4AM with a review of current weather forecasts and, when necessary, driving to assess road conditions in and around Council Rock. On Wednesday and Thursday mornings, it was simple to look outside and determine that the expected snowfall did not appear.
This morning at 4:00 AM, there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. Driving on the roads in and around CR revealed only wet conditions. There was no significant accumulation and the forecast called for this continued pattern without any indication of significant snowfall. Beginning around 6:30 AM, our region experienced more significant snowfall than expected. At that time, our high school busses were already on the road. While it was a possibility to recall busses between 7:30 and 8:00 AM, most students in high school and middle school were already on busses or were at school. It was my decision to allow busses to continue with their routes this morning.
The weather continues to puzzle the local meteorologists. At 9:00 this morning, despite 3 inches of snow on the ground in Council Rock, a major news outlet in Philadelphia was still calling for light snow and wet roads in Bucks County. This week has proved the inexact science of weather predictions.
I take my responsibility for the safety of our students very seriously. If there were any early indication of this snowfall, I would have acted to delay school today. Despite that, I recognize that many were anxious and concerned about conditions this morning and I offer, once again, my sincere apologies. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Enjoy a restful and warm weekend.
Respectfully
Mark J. KleinSuperintendent of Schools
Man Landers
3:06 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
In fairness, I hope people are reasonable here. No one saw this coming.
The Illuminati
3:11 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
People need to learn how to drive in the snow...too many yuppies in 4x4s around here that don't know how to drive.
Molly
3:30 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
Just a bad call by Mr. Klein. It happens. The days over and now we need to move on and hope it doesn't happen again.
D C Signs
7:31 am on Saturday, March 9, 2013
A bad call? Really? What would you have done without the correct information? I woke up very surprised to see snow Friday morning and I think most people including Mr. Klein was as well.
mork
9:24 am on Saturday, March 9, 2013
Just a bad comment by Molly. Mother Nature Through us a Boomerrang. NOT ONE STATION OR THE WEATHER CHANNEL HAD THAT SYSTEM COMING BACK THAT FAR IN-LAND AND SOUTH
zzZ
4:09 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
Blame the meteorologists. People rely on their forecasts for safety precautions yet they are never held accountable when they're dead wrong. We'll just move on and anxiously await the name of their next WINTER STORM!ZOMG!RATINGS!HYPE!
Geri
5:14 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
The decision to delay school has to be made well before school starts. Sometimes Mother Nature does not do what we think she will do. No one should fault Mark Klein for that. I remember one day when school was cancelled for the day because a bad storm was forecast. It stalled in its march east and not a flake fell all day. The next day we got the storm....so the kids got 2 days off instead of one. No one can 100% predict a storm, its movement or intensity.
Becky
8:13 am on Saturday, March 9, 2013
Anyone who blames Mr. Klein or the school district in general is just being completely unreasonable. Mother Nature does what she wants, when she wants, and we can't always predict it accurately. If anyone is condemning CR for not taking the correct action, they really need to get a life.
Living the Bucks Life
10:32 am on Saturday, March 9, 2013
Hey to you parents that are upset the schools didn't open late...Grow up...take responsibility...they are your kids...not Mr. Klein's. When you realized it was so bad, why did you send your kids to the bus stop...why did you drive them to school...if you didn't feel it was safe...you should have been responsible and kept your children home for an hour or two...then taken them to school late. Oh right, a blemished attendance record, OMG...not my child. And if the schools did open late...we'd be hearing OMG, what am I going to do...late for work,,miss my tennis match...can't get to Starbucks to meet my friends.............REALLY all you complainers and nay sayers...get a life, take a seditive and calm the heck down and roll with it. If this was the worst thing that happened in your life this week, be thankful !!! Just saying!
Traci
5:01 pm on Saturday, March 9, 2013
Thank you Mr. Klein for getting out of bed to drive our streets every morning at 4am. This is one job I would not want.
NS
4:42 pm on Sunday, March 10, 2013
No problem with the weather mix up, you have to balance this with the economic cost of another snow day.
You are not excused for the cronyism you have demonstrated with your appointments, however.
Becky
5:04 pm on Sunday, March 10, 2013
NS, can you expound on that comment about the cronyism? I'm not aware of that situation.
Fevered Mom
1:20 am on Monday, March 11, 2013
Cronyism: favoritism shown to those you hire or appoint.
Becky
8:14 am on Monday, March 11, 2013
LOL, yes, I know what the word means. I was asking for examples of what NS is referring to in his post.
Thank you for the vocab lesson though.
Fevered Mom
6:04 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
Lol, Becky, it wasn't meant to be a vocabulary lesson. I wont fuel your response. I will tell you that I and no one else should do your homework for you. They do teach that in CRSD, or at least they promote the idea that if someone does do it for you, just don't get caught. Go on the CRSD board site and one by one google the board members and appointments. Then you will have your CRONYISM, answer, and u will have done ur own HOMEWORK. Thanks NS for bring it to Becky's attention.
Becky
10:14 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
Gee "Fevered Mom", you really Do have a hot head. I believe you also DID "fuel my response". What's your problem? I didn't realize that my light comment was going to bring your temperature even higher than it apparently already is. Sheesh, lighten up.
NS
9:21 pm on Sunday, March 31, 2013
Look at every appointment he has made including the Athletic Directors of our two high schools...............pathetic.
Cathy
2:16 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
I am from Chicago and our schools never opened late of closed because of a FEW inches of snow...ever! NEWS FLASH: it snows in winter. And when it snows, the roads are probably going to be a little slippery. A few inches of snow is not a blizzard and it does not make the roads unpassable. So, you leave a little earlier to get to where you are going, you drive a little slower, you allow extra distance between you and the car in front of you, and you take the turns a little slower. You will never learn how to drive in the snow unless you actually go out and drive in the snow. I have a teenage daughter who is a new driver, and both my husband and I are teaching her how to drive in the snow. Why? Because it is not always going to be a perfect sunny day when she is driving.
Fevered Mom
6:12 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
Thanks Cathy, I couldn't have said it better. What snow, the stuff on their street in their development that you can't see the main roads through their costly landscaping.
Thats the only snow I saw the other day. But poor Mr Klein has to weigh the cost of liability insurance vs opening later, not at all, or closing early, for our entitlement children. Children who cant walk to the entrances to those developments so the buses can safely transport them. How far backwards our world has become.