By:Chris Munzing
The only tests affected, Greenberg said, were midterms scheduled for Monday at Long Beach Middle School. He added that these tests could be easily rescheduled. The state-issued Regents exams that were scheduled to begin Tuesday, went off without a hitch, he said.
The decision to extend the weekend by a day was made by Greenberg after he toured the city with members of the district's buildings and grounds department on Sunday afternoon. "I toured the district at about 3:30 p.m.," Greenberg said. "Our bus station and the buses were all running smoothly, but we were concerned about the side streets that still had a lot of snow on them. We were concerned with kids who walk to school, and would have to walk in the street in some spots. I made the decision at about 8:30 p.m."
Greenberg said that he consulted with other superintendents in nearby districts to gauge what they were doing. "If Island Park is closing, and Oceanside closing, I want to know why," Greenberg said. "If I'm hearing that the roads aren't great, I'm concerned about how our staff will get here. There are only three ways onto this island."
"Cancellation was a good call," said school board member Roy Lester. "Not so much the buses, but it would've been dangerous for the kids who walk, especially on Lido Boulevard."
School Board President Patrick Gallagher said that had the snow day fallen on Tuesday, the Regents exams scheduled for that day would have to be pushed back to June. "Once a state exam is set, it can't be retaken until June," he said. "Other than affecting some in-class testing, it won't have an impact."
With children home for the day, and the likelihood of more snow in the coming weeks, parents also had to deal with unexpectedly having a house full of kids. For working parents, that stress is doubled when there's not an adult at home.
"It's definitely a difficulty for [parents], but most have friends or neighbors that can take care of the kids in an emergency," Lester said. "When children are home sick from school, parents have emergency measures in place. And with everybody home from school, the kids are often together at someone's house."
"You don't have a choice," said PTA Central Council President Lynn Gergen said. "It is what it is, but you have to realize the superintendent is making the decision with the kids' safety in mind."
Gergen said when her daughter was younger, she would schedule playdates with other children, or if she working, send her daughter to a friend's house. "It's very hard for working parents, but you have to deal with it," she said. "That's what's great about Long Beach. It's a family, and we take care of each other."
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