Anthony Lama, a parent of a first grader at Saucon ES voiced concerns Feb. 26 to the school board over what he called “unnecessary and frivolous” school closings due to inclement weather. Lama said, “I say we should not be snowflakes that melt, ironically enough, in the presence of a few snowflakes.”

According to Lama, “we’ve had a very mild winter, very uneventful and yet we lost 41 hours of instructional time with 10 weather related closings and delays.” Due to the number of closing thus far this year, many districts are shortening the Easter holiday and adding days at the end of the school year.

Lama said when Saucon closed on a recent Wednesday, he took his son to a movie and Red Robin at the Promenade Shops, citing conditions that were not worthy of a closing. He noted another day, Jan. 22, when it was 11 degrees and the district had a delayed opening because “school buses couldn’t be warmed up.” According to Lama, “that’s a disgrace, how was someone not fired?”

Lama himself is a teacher and drives to New York 82 miles each way. He said he views the closings as a disruption that harms students’ educations. He mentioned there is research that shows when students take math assessments, their grades fall by a third to one half a percentage point for every day school is closed due to snow. Lama said, “My son’s teacher and all the teachers can’t do the great work they do if they’re locked out of the building.”

In addition, Lama said he believes unnecessary school closings set a bad example for kids and fail to prepare them for the real world. According to Lama, “the implicit message is that school doesn’t matter, it’s something expendable, doesn’t really make a difference.” Saucon and other school districts claim that they are trying to prepare students for college and a career afterward, he said, and, “what college or career allows you to miss work over a couple of inches of snow?”

Lama offered a solution to the board. His idea included more “stringent and standardized criteria” for closings and delays. He acknowledged closings are a subjective process but suggested the district close schools when the forecast calls for a winter storm warning of six or more inches of snow and keep schools open for minor events such as advisories where snow is expected, but not anything more than a nuisance. According to Lama, if the district took this approach there would only have been two closings this school year, instead of 10 closings and delays.

Board member Shamim Pakzad acknowledged there are many factors that go into deciding to close school, but agreed with Lama’s assessment and said, “If kids are not in the classroom, teachers can’t do anything for them.”

Superintendent Craig Butler noted one those factors by saying it’s very difficult not to act in accordance with other districts, like Bethlehem, because Saucon partners with Bethlehem in sharing vocational technical students. Butler also noted that he worked in Wyoming for nine years and school was closed only one day due to 74 below zero temperatures. He said he wouldn’t have a problem staying open, but if all the other school districts are closed and Saucon remains open, “I would have trouble answering to this board if something were to happen on one of our buses.”

Board member Bryan Eichfeld noted Saucon buses students from throughout Wassergass and Lower Saucon Township, which contain more mountainous areas with curvy roads that often contain more snow and ice than the rest of the district.