HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The extreme weather that shuttered schools across a swath of the United States this week also spurred debates over when such calls are appropriate.
Superintendents said they try to weigh the needs of the entire district when considering whether to close school. But they are also looking out for the most vulnerable, especially those who may rely on schools for meals and other assistance.
Kentucky Republican Gov. Matt Bevin said he was being slightly facetious when he told a radio station that districts closing schools for cold weather might be getting "soft."
In the debate touched off by his comments, many have pointed to the class divide between working parents who are inconvenienced by delays and poorer families that might not have a car to bring their children to school.
