A version of this story appears on TheDailyNorwalk.com.
Common Council member Nora King's status on her Facebook page Wednesday evening read, "Norwalk is the only school who has cancelled for tomorrow. Does this clearly demonstrate a city that is not operating correctly? I think so!"
Norwalk Public Schools canceled classes for Thursday, the second day in a row after a major storm dropped more than a foot of snow in the area.
A check by TheDailyNorwalk.com showed that it would have been difficult to open schools Thursday. As of noon, the parking areas at Nathan Hale Middle School and Naramake Elementary School, both on Strawberry Hill Avenue, had not been cleared. Plowing of Norwalk High School, the third school on Strawberry Hill Avenue, had just begun. Across town, Brien McMahon had not been plowed by noon. At 1:30 p.m., the plows had made their way to Nathan Hale and Naramake. The city's Department of Public Works, not the school district, is responsible for clearing school parking lots.
"This is another example of the DPW not doing their job," King said in an interview. King, a member of the Common Council's Public Works Committee, has been a vocal critic of the DPW on several issues.
"There is a lack of accountability with the DPW," she said. "They should have a plan and a strategy for how they are going to plow the streets, and it should be posted on the Internet."
Hal Alvord, director of Norwalk's Department of Public Works, could not be reached for comment.
King also said the department should shed its reluctance to hire contractors. "If the DPW can't plow the schools on time, then they should have outside plow companies come and do it," she said. City budgets are tight, King said, but added that the DPW has 102 employees and suffered no budget cuts last year.
King also pointed out that Norwalk was the only area district that canceled school: Most had delayed openings. "There is a loss of productivity for parents," said King. Several working parents commented on TheDailyNorwalk.com's Facebook page that they took their children to work with them or worked from home.
Friday, January 14, 2011
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I agree with Ms. King, this is a disgrace! Furthermore, the parking lots were not well plowed when they WERE done. There are mounds of snow blocking the entrance/exits to the parking lots and one can barely navagate around the piles or see what is on the other side when pulling out. When someone is hit, then something will be done about it. Once again, it is our children who pay the price at the incompetence of the city.
ReplyDeleteMultiple comments/statements:
ReplyDeleteWouldn't we all like to have a job were we can do everything wrong and still get paid?
We live in the Northeast correct? Hey Hal, Snow is as common here as sunshine ine Arizona, get prepared.
So everyone worries about the schools not opening, what would have happened if a boiler went in one of these schools, how do the emergency crews get there? Case in point Myrtle Ave.
Oh I coul dkeep it going but I gotta get back to work.
Yes we live in the northeast and yes there is room for better coordination, and a posted link by Director Alvord or Emergency coordinator Deluca could certainly help folks at least understand whats being done. When we have DPW workers putting in long hours and the public venting on workers themselves, when city equipment and private property is mangled, tempers can flare.
ReplyDeleteThis is just weather people, dont we have bigger issues to resolve?
Snow melts, chill, lets focus here.
Some good news coming out of Harford this week with Malloys policy committee concluding that the states formula for distribution of funds to help districts cope, aka; E.C.S. (Educational Cost Sharing) formula, is non functional and needs a complete overhaul.
Hey we all know this, including the Sates Supreme Court justices that are handling, or not, the stalled State Supreme Court challenge to the states E.C.S. formula by volunteer law students at Yale, (ccj.org) but to hear it admitted, publically, from Hartford, well is there hope?
Can Malloy bring common cents back to education? Is education the single sole logical, leaning forward investment we can do to not just survive but for our economy to thrive?
Equal access to quality education is a civil right. Be heard, speak for all the children's silent voice's, speak responsibly, because we all are responsible and we do understand the critical role education has on so many levels, individually and collectively.
Can we harness all this energy into efforts that can produce results for the students futures?
Shout out to Dr. Moore, her staff and Dr. Marks for opening West Rocks Friday morning after the buildings infrastructure malfuntioned just hours before the doors opened.
Goes to show you what duck tape, team work and sheer will can accomplish. Nice work people.
How can Mayor Moccia expect 12 months BOE employees to report to their schools when the DPW's employees do not have the 19 schools and the parking lot at City Hall plowed? I passed NHS, Nathan Hale MS and Naramake on Thursday @noon and none of the parking lots were plowed and there was no way anyone could get into their building. The snow removal at 125 East Avenue was horrible and it still is on 1/14/11. Yes, we were the only school district in our surrounding area that did not open on Thursday, but who do we have to blame - not the BOE - but we can blame the City of Norwalk's DPW Department who is under Mayor Moccia's control!
ReplyDeleteI will not comment on the quality of snow plowing -- but it should be pointed out that Norwalk students walk to school. This is not the case in all of our neigboring towns where most kids take a bus. The sidewalks still have not been plowed - who is to blame? There is no way the schools could have opened Thursday. Even on Friday, working parents with "walkers" had to worry about their children getting home safely.
ReplyDeleteGreat work, Nora.
ReplyDeleteAt the very least, we should take a look at our entire plowing operation. The DPW director, following the example of the DPW director in NYC, considered the matter from a purely staffing standpoint. Staffing in Norwalk may be part of the problem, but I'm certain not the entire answer.
For instance, many streets are repeatedly plowed after the snow has stopped, and not merely to widen the traffic lanes. This is an old issue that used to come in the late 1990s and early on this century. Some members of the Council, who were close to the directors, often denied this, but most of the public had issues with what they observed.
We used to have major problems getting many of our side streets plowed in a timely manner. As a runner, I was very sensitive to this problem. From what I've seen, we're doing a little better here, but there were a number of streets in the Cranbury area, after the Dec. 26 storm, that were unplowed a few days later.
The bottom line is, we need to examine our plowing system. Are we paying too much, and getting too little? Or is it merely staffing issues related to economic conditions?
Who is Nora?
ReplyDeleteHey. Great posts here. But I have to say, walking to school is close to impossible. Something should be done for the families that HAVE to walk. Unless the NPS assume all walkers get driven (we don't) when the weather is bad. We have a lot of families who are walkiing in the middle of the streets. Out crossing guard does not bother, either.. PLEASE, get the word out, if you see someone walking in the street around school hours, it's only bc there are no options. We dont' like being buzzed or honked at. No one cares about us, but we will watch out for ourselves. Just watch out for us, ok?
ReplyDeleteI am always a little curious as to why a public official would rather grandstand in a public forum such as this rather than spearhead the process of working collaboratively within committee to affect change for the better. I've heard Nora King is on the DPW Council Committee. If so, she can help to prioritize this topic and explore appropriate ways to correct the plowing process. We look forward to her positive input.
ReplyDeleteUnfair to say that Ms. King is "grandstanding"-- c'mon, she's asking legitimate questions.
ReplyDeleteHas DPW worked to widen any intersections or truck away high snow banks? Not where I live, work and drive.
Does DPW have any plan for plowing that minimizes how they habitually clog intersections with snow (because they never- and I mean never- clean out the snow that gets into the intersection when they plow a cross street).
I've lived here for years and have never been satisfied with the plowing--- drive to any small town in Maine or New Hampshire and you'll see snow removal operations that work so that folks can safely drive to work and kids can get to school. Here, there is no accountabliity so there's no effort to better plan our effotrs.
I am from a different, but far snowier city. ALL city streets require either a 12 or 24 hour period after a 2 inch snowfall that there is NO parking. And in those 12 or 24 hours, the streets are clear. People move their cars, no whining. And they can park when they return. Why won't Norwalk adopt a similar law? Tow in snow.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI love how people can throw out "grandstanding" as a way to describe people who are upset over an issue. As a mother concerned about education - schools should be open. It is a city's responsiblity to plow the school lots. It is not okay for a city to be the only one in our area that shuts down because they cannot plow the school's parking lots. We have academic issues within Norwalk and our children shouldn't miss a day of school due to the DPW and the Mayor not being able to get the job done. I am a mother and wife first, a taxpayer second, and a Common Council person third. I want a well run city for the tax dollars that I pay. I don't think you will find many parents (with children currently going to school) in Norwalk that disagree.
Regard,
Councilwoman Nora King
Good for you, Nora. Give 'em purgatory. In case anyone wonders, the Mayor made quite a big deal about central office secretaries for the BOE getting to work on snow days so his own secretaries do not feel slighted. I hope he was happy to force people to work in unsafe conditions and to arrive to find only a handful of spaces to park their cars. No prob though. At least he was able to say city hall was open for any nutcase that would be willing to go out in that storm and visit it. Good ole Norwalk. Business as usual.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the quote above, Norwalk was not the only school system closed. Bridgeport was closed along with Norwalk while Stamford had a delay. Stamford had less snowfall than Bridgeport or Norwalk. Finally, why would a public official "give 'em purgatory?" Facts and solutions would be far more productive.
ReplyDeleteSchool is closed again today - a call that was made early enough that parents could make alternate plans. Yes, it doesn't look too bad out there now - but with predicted icy conditions and sidewalks not plowed (many of which are in front of private residences), I think Marks made the right call. As was previously mentioned, some kids need to walk to and/or from school and walking in the street with cars sliding around isn't safe. It would be courteous, safer and more "green", if kids who are eligible to take buses actually took the bus to school. Much of the dangerous congestion that exists in our schools' parking lots would be alleviated by using the bus system.
ReplyDeleteWhat would be another sound decision is to make the end of the "make-up" days full days so our kids don't fall futher behind. Too bad it won't happen.
Like many of the working parents in Norwalk, I have lost a day of pay due to today's closing and will perhaps be "written up" for an unexcused absence. No one said being a parent was easy.
If you have had to take the day off take, make sure your sidewalks are clear and maybe help a neighbor who is unable to shovel -- more snow is coming.
Thank you, 8:16. It is refreshing to hear your thoughts on the situation with your "help a neighbor" attitude.
ReplyDeleteLast man out turn off the lights,
ReplyDelete(NOT),the boiler!!
These are avoidable errors, are they not? Sorry about that Ponus students and parents. We have to lay off and/or retire the folks that actually run the schools so we can pay the pensions and salaries. Its a shell game.
Never understood why teachers and school personel recieve city pensions. One could imagine that if the state handled pensions and salaries things would run smoother, but alas, common sense is not on anyones agenda.
Any thoughts on taking away a vacation or some of the days in Feb or April since we already have 3 days to make up and omore snowis predicted for Friday??? Kids do not need 2 weeks of vacation.....
ReplyDeleteI agree--let's start putting htat out there so people are prepared in case we get more snow days.....
ReplyDeleteJust for the record, teachers do not receive city pensions. In Connecticut, we do not even have the opportunity to pay into Social Security.
ReplyDelete