KANSAS CITY, Mo — Several school districts in the metro made the decision this morning to close again or have a virtual learning day.
It was out of an abundance of caution due to icy road conditions, but the late communication left some families frustrated with no plan of action.
“It was kind of too little too late, if safety was the number one concern there,” said Matt Fowler who has two children in KCPS. “Luckily, we weren’t on the road. I don’t think everybody else was as lucky.”
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Fowler says the school district promised to notify parents of any closures by 5:30 Friday morning, but they did not hear anything until 6:30. Some were already out the door when they got the news, some were stuck in traffic and others were waiting at the bus stop.
“They’re just lucky that somebody didn’t get into a bad accident because they were on their way to school, because this decision came late,” said Fowler. “Whatever process they have in place for making that should have been made by the time they promised parents it would be made. And I think that's a failure of leadership honestly.”
The closure announcement from the district came as road conditions across the metro were dangerous with major traffic, closures and crashes.
In a notice to parents this morning, the district acknowledged school closings would be an inconvenience for families, adding it must always do what is best for the safety of the students and staff.
Fowler hopes to see a plan of action for snow days going forward so that late communication does not happen again.
“Not just, ‘Hey we’re gonna fix this, we’re not gonna do this next time.’ What are we gonna do? Because right now, they’ve kind of damaged trust,” said Fowler.
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