Massachusetts educators face negativity over snow day decision

After negativity on social media regarding the decision around a snow day, a Massachusetts town is reminding people to not take it out on teachers.

“Public school teachers DO NOT weigh in on the decision as to whether or not to have school – they are dedicated and caring employees that transform the lives of your children,” the Hopedale Town Administrator Facebook page states.

The Facebook post was created after there was negative activity surrounding Hopedale’s decision to close schools Thursday, which was “particularly directed at our educators,” the post stated.

Many schools in Massachusetts closed Thursday due to the snow storm, which started around 6 a.m. in parts of the state.

Forecasters expect most of the state to see between 2 and 4 inches of snow, with 3 inches projected to fall in Boston, between 3 and 4 inches forecasted for Worcester and 2 to 3 inches predicted for Springfield.

To make the call about a snow day, Hopedale explained that the superintendent works with the town administrator, police chief, highway superintendent and other area school superintendents.

“The primary goal of this process is to assess the road conditions to make sure buses and parents can traverse both to and from school safely with minimal risk,” the post read. “Prior to making the announcement to cancel, the Superintendent and I spoke, and we knew that most other area schools were cancelling after working through their own processes.”

The post also acknowledged the forecast could be wrong.

“Lastly, I fully understand that meteorologists are accurate 50% of the time,” it read. “We are all relying on the best information we can in real time to make decisions.”

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