BUFFALO N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Public Schools revised their decision to reopen their doors after and overwhelming majority of parent comments on Facebook.
"It was a tragedy waiting to happen," mom of six Lecandice Durham said.
She expressed how she was worried about the snow jeopardizing the safety of her kids.
"Just worrying about the safety of the children was number one to me," she said. "Them standing at the bus stops or standing in the street because the bus stops are not even shoveled. You know it worried me"
The comments on Facebook from concerned parents caused the school board to ask themselves if they could confidentially ensure a safe arrival to school.
"The bottom line in making these decisions is student safety. Thats when we came to a point where we did not feel we could speak confidently to students safety that's when we reevaluated," Chief Operating Officer for Buffalo Public Schools David Hills said.
He noted that listening to the parents of the community is so important. One the other hand sing mom Jessica Bauer Walker said in her opinion each parents voice may not have been heard. She shared that she is not fully in favor of schools being closed.
"It's really important for the district, when they make these decisions, to consult with parents and understand what the implications are it may be the weather it may be other things," she said. "Parents who were able to speak out today and talk about why schools should be closed, is a different population than those who were working all day."
Walker said schools provide services and needs that some families have been missing such as school lunches and mental health resources.
"Going on a week of not having that food supplied and I think many of our families and our children depend on getting those meals in school," she said. Then so many of our children and families are experiencing mental health issues and so they depend on student support teams and the mental health supports that are in schools."
