Metro Schools Quickly Admits Mistake For Not Canceling Classes

Administrators in Nashville wasted no time apologizing for not cancelling classes sooner Friday morning.

Chief operating officer Chris Henson says conditions were much different at 5 a.m. as the first buses needed to get rolling. Snow appeared to be staying to the south of Davidson County. The district assured parents that
school was on.

A couple of hours later, busloads of children were stuck on patches of ice. One skidded into a mailbox. And others were involved in minor accidents, though no serious injuries were reported.

UPDATE: Most of the school bus accidents today involved buses that had no students on board. Districtwide, no reports of injuries.— Metro Schools (@MetroSchools)
January 6, 2017

“We made the best decision we feel like with the information we had, realizing that conditions changed,” Henson said at a 10 a.m. press conference. “If we would have known that those conditions were going to change, obviously, we would have made a different decision.”

The district chose to release students early even as bus pick-ups were still underway.

Dr. Shawn Joseph concurred in and defended the earlier, bad decision not to initially close Metro-Davidson County Schools.
#MNPS— Dianna Y. L. Miller (@diannaylmiller)
January 6, 2017

While questions on social media were focused at the new superintendent from Maryland, Henson says Shawn Joseph should not be blamed. Henson, who is a longtime administrator with the district, says his office ultimately made the call.