The SPPS Outrage

The community works together to get a bus out of the snow. 
Credit: (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

    Snowstorms unite Minnesotans and January 22, 2018 angered the fiercest group of people: parents. On that fateful Monday, I went to school like any other SPPS student. Though it was a cold day, the sun, surprisingly, was shining brightly. However, once 3PM hit and the bell rang, I walked out to a blistering storm. I trudged through the knee-height snow thanks to my lovely BearPaws and secured a spot on the bus. On the way home, the scene outside was horrendous; it felt like an apocalypse. Cars were stuck on every corner, visibility was close to nothing, and homeowners begrudgingly were shoveling their sidewalks and driveways. The fact that I made it home that day was a miracle in itself considering that I was one of the few SPPS students that arrived home at a reasonable time. 

    

    Walking from the bus stop, I was in charge of making a pathway for my siblings because I was the only one with boots on. Such a Minnesotan thing to not wear boots during a storm. When I got home, there was no time to rest. I had to go out and shovel our long driveway. My back was hurting, my lashes were frozen, and my face was red from the flying bullets of snow, but I persevered. After an hour of shoveling, I called my mom to see where she was and if she was safe. The time was around 5PM. She was stuck on the road with multiple other cars moving centimeter by centimeter and the worst part was she was running out of gas. She didn’t arrive home until close to 10PM. What a good start to the week, am I right?

The total accumulation of snow for the Twin Cities was 8-12 inches.
Credit: National Weather Service

    Despite there being a snowstorm forecasted the night before, SPPS superintendent did not cancel school which ended up in tragedy. Though I made it home, hundreds of other students did not make it back until close to midnight. From 3PM, when school ended, to midnight, students were stranded on buses or in schools. Panicked parents called the schools and tried tracking the buses without a clarified update on where their children were. According to Fox9, about 10,000 students arrived home late and 75 students with special needs were affected. Police squad cars were called to help get the students home. Angry families took to social media to voice their concerns and disappointment in SPPS. The following day, SPPS superintendent canceled school, apologized, and made it a goal to make better snowstorm calls and have clearer communication to parents. The total accumulation of snow that day was about a foot and the trauma lingered for many.

Citations: 

National Weather Service. “The January 22-23, 2018 Winter Storm.” National Weather Service, NOAA’s National Weather Service, 30 Mar. 2018, www.weather.gov/mpx/22January2018WinterStorm.

Nelson, Tim, and Solvejg Wastvedt. “St. Paul Students Found Chaos, Kindness in Snowstorm.” MPR News, MPR News, 14 July 2019, www.mprnews.org/story/2018/01/23/many-students-stuck-in-schools-buses-hours-st-paul.

“SPPS Superintendent Apologizes for School Bus Delays after Storm.” FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, 24 Jan. 2018, www.fox9.com/news/spps-superintendent-apologizes-for-school-bus-delays-after-storm.

Verges, Josh. “St. Paul Superintendent Says He Wishes He’d Closed Schools Monday. Nobody Knew That Much Snow Would Fall.” Twin Cities Pioneer Press, Twin Cities Pioneer Press, 24 Jan. 2018, www.twincities.com/2018/01/23/students-stuck-at-school-till-11-p-m-monday-as-tricky-storm-hits-st-paul/.