According to the city’s website, Newton City Hall and all other municipal buildings are closed today, even though the snow emergency was lifted at 9 a.m. and our main streets seem to be in good condition. Couldn’t there just have been a delayed opening for our city workers, as is the case for many other municipalities and the state?
Also, does anyone know what happened to delayed starts for school? Has the School Department’s policy changed? If not today, it seems that this past Friday would have been an excellent contender for a delayed start rather than a cancellation.
I agree Greg last Friday should have been a 2 hour delayed opening. State workers were asked to report to work by 11 am today so certainly by then we should be back to normal.
At first I thought this was a joke, but then I realized it’s in line with Mayor Warren’s judgment.
Do all the City Employees (City Hall, School Administration, etc) get docked a vacation day when the City closes down for the day? I can’t imagine everyone can work from home. Even with VPN or direct access to the computer systems.
I bet they get the day paid and dont have to use Earned Time or Vacation time because the Mayor shut down. If it was open and they opted not to come in usually then you need to use ET or Vacation time – at least that is how it works in the real world.
City Hall should always remain open during a snow storm. The government exists to serve the public. With every day that goes by–and every decision he makes, I lose more and more respect for Setti Warren.
I agree about the City Hall. As for the school delayed openings, I wonder if the delay is so disruptive that it makes more sense to just call it a day off and then make up the day later. I remember when I was a kid, the delayed opening days weren’t terribly productive. We’d come in a few hours late, have to spend time peeling off our snow pants and layers, some kids wouldn’t make it in at all, the teacher would rush through the day and the kids would be too excited and distracted by the snow to really pay attention. I have no idea if that’s their rationale, but it’s just how I remember a delayed opening.
As a parent, I would prefer a delayed start than no school at all. It is very disruptive. Wednesday was awful getting my 9th grader to school and he arrived late . . . . but many of his teachers did not. His lateness was not counted against him, but now after three full snow days and then next week’s February vacation there will be a tough time getting back into the grind. Most middle and high school students don’t bring snow pants to school, and would have a shortened day.
I am hoping this district can use delays instead of always cancelling school.
If we have more snow days there will be students that will hit camp/summer activities before school gets out in June.
Yes, we get paid for the day. We do not have to use any of our earned time.
FifthGen– you’re asking an important question indirectly. You know who gets docked a day when the schools are closed? Thousands of working parents around Newton who have to take a day off when there’s a snow day. Many I’m sure were afforded a freebie on Thursday during the worst of the snow. Fewer were given the same courtesy on Friday when every business was back to work. Which is why the Friday school closing was a real disappointment. The City and Schools need to do a better job fighting to keep school days on the calendar. When I hear the school Superintendent say that the City recommended to keep schools closed, that feels highly defeatist; an admission by the City they did not get the job done to restore important services which includes clearing sidewalks and streets so that kids can get to school. And when the City doesn’t do it’s job, the schools can’t do theirs and I can’t do mine. Someone needs to set the tone that when snow stops falling at 8pm on Thursday, then schools WILL BE OPEN on Friday morning. Instead, its a tone of resignation and blame.
What Newtonville Dad just said.
Last night’s call about the cancellation did say that kids would return to school . . . . soon. He didn’t promise Tuesday. 🙂
Superintendent David Fleishman says that the hardest call he has to make is to close school. He knows how disruptive it is to so many but does it when roads are too slick, sidewalks are too uncleared forcing students into the streets, or when teachers from out of town (80% of our staff) cannot make it safely in from their towns.
I don’t know what goes into the delayed opening/full-day cancellation calculus but I cannot remember the last time Newton had a delayed opening. It wouldn’t surprise me if it has to do with prioritizing the full count of productive school days for our students. I know that when I went to school after a delayed opening the day was never productive.
Our teachers teach for 180 days. When snow cancels school teachers don’t take a vacation day — they teach for an additional day in June.
@Steve: Thanks for the response.
As I recall it stopped snowing at about 8 p.m. on Thursday. So the question then is, why weren’t our streets and sidewalks ready for school ten hours later? And more importantly, what resources do we need to get things ready on that schedule? How many hours should it take? Thursday’s storm wasn’t overly challenging. It was relatively light, easily plow-able snow.
Why not turn some of the teacher development days into regularly scheduled school days?
Steve — I know it’s a hard call for Fleishman to make; I did not make it clear enough that he is at the mercy of the City DPW.
On days like Friday, the City (not Fleishman) must be resolved to get the streets and sidewalks in working order, and that the education and livelihoods of Newton residents is an absolute priority. If they don’t get that job done, then he really does have no choice.
My son’s private sector company was closed Thursday, Friday, and today. My daughter-in-law’s company closed on Thursday and Friday. Many businesses in the metro area were closed throughout this period. Snow storms happen and they’re disruptive.
80% of the Newton staff live well outside of Newton and, in a snow emergency, can’t get to school on time to provide a safe environment for students. Witness what happened on Wednesday: many staff and all the busses were late for school due to a minor storm. It’s not like the good old days when teachers traveled 3 miles from one part of the city to another to get to school. Now a teacher’s commute is up to an hour’s drive in good weather. Do you really want your kids to arrive at a school that’s not sufficiently staffed? I still remember the snowy day when the system din’t call a snow day. Three teachers who lived locally supervised close to 300 students for the first hour of the day, as our colleagues sat in traffic jams. Is that what you want for your kids?
Significant safety concerns come into play in a school system that don’t necessarily play out in the private sector during inclement weather. My son’s workplace had the good sense to tell people to stay at home, but it was for the safety of the staff. When schools are closed, it’s for the safety of students. Who would be held responsible if a student was hurt walking to school in a snowstorm or when the clean-up wasn’t complete? I suspect it would be the very same people blamed for calling a snow day.
@Jane. No one here has suggested putting our children or school staff in harm’s way.
But in a city that prides itself on being data-driven, it’s reasonable to ask how many hours it should take to clean up after a well-forcasted, relativity easy to clear, moderate storm such as the one we had last Thursday. If ten hours isn’t enough, how many hours should it take so as to avoid cancelling school the next day? What added resources would be required to get the city ready in ten hours? How about eight hours?
Residents and businesses pay hefty taxes and by and large, I believe our DPW department has been doing a good job. What would it take to make it better?
I think another thing to take into consideration is that each village deals with unique snow removal challenges. It will be easier to clean up Oak Hill than a village like Nonantum or something. And you can’t really have school if there’s still a parking ban in effect.
In most cases it’s the homeowner’s responsibility to clear the sidewalks, not the city’s. So go talk to your neighbors if they aren’t clearing the sidewalks.
I recall the days of the orange city trucks being the most numerous plowing trucks, I guess 20-30 years ago. Private contractors were pulled in only rarely. Now, with privatization all the rage, I see mostly contractor’s trucks plowing the roads. And the problem is, the city then competes with private parking lots – malls, etc. – for the contractor’s business, and I suppose the malls are easier and pay better. I bought a snowblower, finally, 2 years ago as I could no longer find anyone to plow my driveway within a reasonable time period. They were busy doing larger jobs and I would have the driveway mostly shoveled by the time they came, if they came at all.
@Greg – I agree with what you’re saying for the most part, but it doesn’t address an important part of what Jane wrote, which is that many teachers and other school staff have long commutes to Newton and live in towns that (a) get more snow than us and (b) do a worse job clearing the streets. When I was married, I lived west of 128 and the difference in snow fall amounts can be truly astounding, especially when you get close to 495. And many of the towns out there are small (5000 – 15,000 residents) with snow clearing budgets to match. Even if things are cleared enough in Newton for kids to get to school, there also needs to be enough staff there to take care of them.
Having been a working single parent, I completely sympathize with the plight of those who have jobs at places that are open while schools are closed. I don’t know what the answer is.
We need a comprehensive nationwide public daycare system like both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton put forward last year. It’s essential for many working parents, particularly those with preschool kids. Either that or we have to pay one member of a family enough so the other can stay home and take care of the kids. The way we now organize work and family obligations is demoralizing and intolerable. I have no kids or grandchildren, but I’d be happy to pay more taxes to support this.
It used to be the city could clear the city streets in a day and no school would happen for one day. I am going to take away the 2015 snow season, because I know the city learned things about snow removal that year. What I don’t understand is why we can’t get the schools open (or delayed opening) with a storm of less than 18 inches of snow. I rarely had a snow day as a child and a two day snow day was even rarer.
As a working professional, I decide if a job is worth it, if I can do the commute. In my private sector job, I need to be able to get to my job within reason. Sure, my company was closed on Thursday; open on Friday and a delayed opening on Monday. But, part of taking a job is considering the drive in summer and winter.
We need to figure out a better way to get the schools open after a normal snowfall in a day. More equipment or more human power.
As a parent, I work, and my kids are expected to be students. Years ago the schools could open within a day, so what has happened to change that so in 2017 we can get the schools open.
@Bob – that connects with what I’d suggest for school closing days (since day care won’t help parents whose kids don’t need it 90% of the time), which is that there be certain staff who are able to be there on snow days that aren’t in the midst of blizzards and are paid extra to open the school equivalent of day care on those days. 1-2 teachers per grade might be enough to have adequate classrooms open, have fun activities; students could bring their own lunches so there would be no need for cafeteria staff to make it in.
Of course you’re not suggesting putting children in harm’s way, but your solutions may very well do that. The snow removal problem wasn’t just in Newton. It was all over and causes significant problems getting TO Newton. If a teacher is sitting on Rte 20 when it’s basically become a parking lot, what do you expect the school system to do?
If we had a DE override for more snow plowing infrastructure, that would certainly help. Wellesley has overrides for all kinds of capital improvements (24 at last count). Is that something Newton can get behind?
@Jane: Yes people often choose or have to live far from work.
But when you accept or have a job far from home with that comes a basic responsibility to get there, including when it snows because, well, this is New England, understanding — of course — that sometimes stuff happens.
In this instance it had stopped snowing at 8 p.m. on Thursday so it is reasonable to assume that the vast majority of employees should be able to report to work on time the next morning.
Now every employer, our school system included, always needs to be prepared for the unexpected. I assume that includes having a system to cover for a teacher who might be sitting on Route 20 even on a beautiful spring day.
@Mgwa. Sounds reasonable to me.
Folks let’s be serious No overrides. Greg’s point is well taken, there was NO need for School to be called last Friday and certainly NO need for Newton City Hall to be closed all day on Monday. Why is it that 48 hours after the storm Newton sidewalks remain unshoveled? The City requires Newton residents to shovel their sidewalks yet they seem to be exempt from the same requirement. Just look at the sidewalks that haven’t been cleared on Cypress St. in Newton Centre near the municipal parking lot.
Greg – Perhaps you missed the post where I said that I had in fact covered 300 students with 2 other teachers while my colleagues sat on various highways trying their best to get to work. So can it be done? Sure. Is it safe? No way. Is the NPS staff a responsible group of professionals who do their best to get to work each day? Absolutely.
As you may have heard, teachers, police, and firefighters haven’t been able to afford housing in – or even anywhere near – Newton for decades. So you have a problem – do you want the best teachers? If you do, then you need to understand that the best candidates often live far away from Newton in more affordable communities.
As I mentioned, both of my sons’ private businesses closed on Thursday and Monday. On Friday, both arrived very late, as did most of their colleagues. The difference was that no one was hurt or was put in danger. If you have young children arriving at an understaffed school, you allow children to be in unsafe conditions. The other difference is that we have no idea how many private sector workers arrived late on those days or never went to work at all. Or went to work and sat around all day with nothing to do because they didn’t have any customers.
We live in New England. It snows. Snow storms are inconvenient. The alternative last week was a tornado in New Orleans or a dam breaking in California leaving thousands fleeing their homes.
And Jane perhaps you missed my point which really was asking why City Hall was closed Monday, instead of opening late, not our schools.
My comments only diverted when you started talking about teachers not being able to get here, which with the gridlock we endure in eastern mass, really can happen any day, regardless of the weather. (And I’m sure you know you’re preaching to the choir when you write about a housing crisis forcing folks to live far away.)
I also — rhetorically — wondered just how long it should take to clean up after a relatively easy to clean up storm?
Finally, if the decision to cancel school does indeed consider travel conditions in southern New Hampshire, Worcester County and/or Rhode Island, then I think the public ought to be told that.
The Mayor has posted a “snow clean-up” survey. So don’t just vent yer spleen here, take the survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HZCPWPR
Jane, while your comments are true, they have nothing to do with the fact that Newton needs to do a better, faster job of clearing its streets and sidewalks. As usual there are still city sidewalks in Village Centers that aren’t accessible.
Everyone has different circumstances. Many people, not just teachers, commute to jobs and not all places of business were closed on Friday. Hospitals expect you to get there, even if you’re late. My son lives in Newton and commutes to Winchester hospital. He had no trouble getting to work on Friday a little late and since he was working the weekend with another storm approaching, he had to stay over so he wouldn’t be caught in the storm. Every year he has to do that at least once.
The point is not who had to commute to work, who was late or whose work was closed – it is Newton can and should do a much better job with snow removal. If they did, schools would be able to open because more staff and teachers could get to their schools – even from other towns.