Student asking for a snow day snowballs into something bigger

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

If I as a parent feel that it is unsafe to take/send my child to school - he is not going, no matter what the school decides. The kid should have been talking to his parents about not going to school if the concern was his safety.

I'm with you on this. What did he really think he was going to accomplish exactly?

I also have to say while I'd stop short of calling one phone call at home harassment, I don't think that working for the school system makes you a public official in the sense that you should be regarded as being on call 24-7, even at home. Most school system employees in my district, often even at the administrative level, have a contract day and a contract year. I don't think it's reasonable to expect this guy to take calls at home from the public.

I saw that someone said the kid had been trying to reach him for weeks, but how would that work if it was about a snow day? Are you saying that the kids had general theoretical questions about how the man made his decisions? If that's the case, and he was brushing him off at work and wouldn't return his call or make an appointment to meet with him, then the kid should have gone above his head to his school board rep. or the media about the lack of responsiveness to his concerns.

It still doesn't make it okay to hound the guy at home. If the kid expects to be treated professionally, he should avoid taking it to the personal realm of calling at home.

(Similarly, even if a mom or dad has a legitimate question for me, I don't want to have an impromptu parent conference while I'm buying food at Kroger. I don't think I should have to have an unlisted number or shop for food out of town; I think people should just show a little respect for boundaries.)

All that said, the woman who returned the call should have A) ignored it or B) returned it politely with her husband's work number and the suggestion that he try to reach him there. There was no reason for her lapse of decorum, particularly if this was the first time he called at home.