Superintendent Mamie J. Perkins today apologized for the decision Friday morning that resulted in thousands of students and school system employees braving dangerous conditions to get to school on time. In a letter emailed to parents today and posted on the school system’s website and Facebook and Twitter pages, Perkins promised a thorough examination of the process to identify improvements that can be made.
“We made the wrong call,” Mrs. Perkins wrote in the letter. “The ultimate call is our school system’s and our school system’s alone. It is made by a group of human beings who truly are working hard and doing their level best to make correct decisions. We as a system are not perfect, and we should not be afraid to admit when we err. In this case, we clearly could have done better.”
Anne Arundel County Public Schools was one of the few school systems in the state to open on time Friday. Most of the other systems delayed the start of classes to allow students and employees additional time to travel to schools and offices.
County Executive Laura Neuman said that she understands the difficulty of making a decision on the opening of schools, but encouraged the school system to find ways to arrive at better outcomes in questionable weather conditions.
“The school system is a great partner in our county and I respect the difficult position they were in Friday morning,” County Executive Neuman said. “Our personnel provide input in such situations, but we have no say in the final decision as that belongs to the school system. We all want the same things for our children and parents, and I hope that the review Mrs. Perkins is conducting leads to changes that prevent this from happening again.”
See Mrs. Perkins’ letter to parents and employees