In the wake of the recent winter storm that hit metro Atlanta, Atlanta Public Schools decided to resume classes on Friday, then seemingly flip-flopped, leaving parents scratching their heads.
But the closing had absolutely nothing to do with the weather. The district was ready to go Friday, but then the calls started pouring in.
“I literally was short 50 routes for buses and that ranged from north Atlanta to south Atlanta,” said APS Superintendent Dr. Meria Carstarphen, from bus drivers, food servers, and teachers, who were stuck at home.
“If they can’t get out of their driveways, they can’t get up hills and back down again,” she said. Some of those workers live outside the district, whose frozen side streets forced counties like DeKalb, Cobb and Fulton to cancel classes for the fourth time this week.
“We are dependent on the city for the neighborhood peace, but because we depend on DeKalb, Fulton and Cobb counties for our staffing, it’s essential they are able to clear their roads so I can to get the staff into the city of Atlanta,” Carstarphen said.
But there lies the problem. Many APS staff live in other counties because they can’t afford to live inside the city.
“People who are making hourly wages, they have to be able to live in the city to provide the services,” Carstarphen said.
“I’m so furious. We’re a district that’s in trouble. We’re still under the lens of how the state is looking at high stakes accountable. I believe we can turn around our own schools, but we can’t do it if we can’t teach our own kids.”
APS said 93 percent of its thoroughfares are clear and safe, just not in some other counties.
The good news is that APS high school athletic schedules begin Saturday, but middle school activities are still canceled.
APS has a waiver, so they don’t have to make those snow days, but the superintendent said they need to.
The district paid all of their employees for those snow days, so now the challenge is finding a way to make up those days without breaking the budget.
APS sent out a survey with different options, looking for community and parent input. They’ve already received more than 12,000 responses.
