Student asking for a snow day snowballs into something bigger

[SWTXBelle]

I think you mean "unexcused" vs. "excused".
I dealt with the whole "unexcused vs. excused" thing when I was in high school and had to be absent for some horse shows. My mother called the school to arrange my absence. She was told that no, I could not be absent (I was an "A" student, btw). My mother wanted to know if she reported that I was sick if I would be considered unexcused. She was told no. So she told them that if I was absent with her permission, I would always be "sick". I never had to miss a speech tournament.
In the case of the kid in VA - again, I'm talking about if the conditions were indeed dangerous (which I understand they were not). If I have to weigh possibly losing my child by sending him out in dangerous weather or risking an absence, it's an easy choice.
And I think the wife went over the edge - but I would like to hear the first call before I decide if she is totally nuts.