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NY Daily News: Faced with an avalanche of criticism for keeping classes open during a nor’easter, the city’s schools boss fired back Thursday with a flippant answer that infuriated parents.
“It’s absolutely a beautiful day out there,” Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina said.
Farina made the callous crack at a press conference where a defensive Mayor de Blasio defended the decision not to cancel school even as New York City was being bombarded with what’s likely to be a foot of snow.
“Unlike some cities, we don’t shut down in the face of adversity,” said de Blasio, who noted that city schools have been shuttered only 11 times since 1978. “I’m going to make decisions based on the information we have.”
Within minutes of wrapping up the presser, Farina beat it out of the city’s storm center at the Office of Emergency Management.
A short time later, Farina’s office announced that her town hall meeting in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn was cancelled “due to inclement weather.”
Unlike most New Yorkers, Farina has a taxpayer-funded car and driver to get her around town. Also, her husband lives in sunny Florida full time.
Meanwhile, school officials reported only about 45% of the city’s students showed for classes Thursday.
Generally, February attendance hovers around 90% the previous low was 47% recorded on Jan. 22 — another day when schools were open during a snowstorm.
New York doesn’t shut down in the face of adversity? Wait….what? This really happened? The largest city in the United States had school during a noreaster because they “don’t shut down in the face of adversity?” Ya got that? New York could be attacked by martians in spaceships and kids will be going to school. Well, at least 47% of them will be.
Why on earth would they make so many people risk their lives to go out during the middle of a blizzard?
“If people can go to work, then kids can to school,” she said. “Many of our kids don’t get a hot lunch and, in many cases breakfast, unless they go to school. So it’s still a parent’s decision whether they send their kids to school or not. My decision is where the kids are safest and the most taken care of, and the answer to that is in schools.”
Oh, I see. We have to keep the schools open because parents don’t give food to their kids. Apparently these parents ARE able and responsible enough to bring their kids to school during the middle of a snowstorm, but not responsible enough to get them a happy meal on the way home? YYYYEEEEEAAAAAAAAA.
What about parents who think it’s too dangerous to bring their kids to school?
She emphasized that parents should make their own decisions on whether they wanted to send their children to school.
“Parents, as always, should exercise their own judgment with regard to their children. Safety is a top priority for the Department,” Farina said.
Yea, so if your family doesn’t own a tank then you’re welcome to keep your kids home. But you should probably try to bring them in anyway for their free government lunch. Thursday is pancake day.
Basically what they’re saying is that school doesn’t really matter. If you can make it, great. If you can’t, no big deal because after all, it’s just school. The only reason to come to school is the free food. That’s it. The bottom line here is that this is one of the biggest epic fails in the history of the school cancelation game. Canceling schools on Thursday was one of the biggest no brainers of all time. Listen, I know sometimes it can be a tough call for superintendents to decide what to do. If it doesn’t snow much everyone hates you for calling it too early. But sometimes God makes life really, really easy for you. He has Obama play with his weather machine, dump a foot of snow on you, and everyone gets hot cocoa and Mac and Cheese. Apparently not in New York though. Yet another reason why Boston > New York.
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