Philadelphia School District Defends Decision To Close
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It has happened several times this school year already -- Philadelphia Public Schools are closed -- while their counterparts in the suburbs are open on a two hour delay.
Why is this the case? Is the city's budget crunch to blame?
Students who attend the city's Public and Parochial schools didn't have school again Tuesday, although schools in the northern and western suburbs were open for the most part.
"I think that it is definitely a question that will come up when you see some schools opening two hours late and some schools closing, but you have to look at the city scape. The challenges of the streets, the cars that parked and the amount of buses we have to put out on the streets," School District spokesperson Fernando Gallard said.
Gallard says city officials have to clear miles and miles of urban streets and sidewalks in order for the children to safely travel to school.
"I know that later on today (Tuesday), the roads will certainly be in much better condition and everyone will be wondering why didn't they have school today. But if you were out at 6-7 o'clock this morning, it was a slightly different situation out there," Mayor Michael Nutter said.
Nutter expects schools to be open Wednesday.
Reported By Michelle Durham, KYW Newsradio; Dray Clark, CBS Philly
