CR Superintendent: 'I'm Sorry'

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