Greater Chattanooga area parents scramble after early dismissal

The robotic calls, emails and text messages announcing early dismissal for Hamilton County’s 42,000 public school students were dispatched Wednesday morning as many parents were dropping their kids off at school.

The unexpected half-day meant that thousands of families had to rearrange their work and child care plans as schools began closing at noon. That after a full week of no snow last week — thanks to cold temperatures, snow threats and the President’s Day holiday — and a day off on Tuesday of this week because of snow.

“It’s kind of an inconvenience, said Wanda Pegram, as she picked up her grandson from Battle Academy on Wednesday afternoon. “But you’d rather be on the safe side.”

She said she understood the school system’s decision to cut the day short. And she was fine with watching her grandson as his parents were stuck at work.

“The schools do the best they can,” she said. “They can’t please everybody.”

Hamilton County school officials initially decided to hold classes on Wednesday because the forecast called for snow to hit the region after 4 p.m. That changed Wednesday morning with updated predictions calling for snowflakes beginning as early as 2 p.m., said Hamilton County Schools Assistant Superintendent Lee McDade.

When the storm prediction changed to 2 p.m., he said, he didn’t want to risk having school buses on roads amid the storm.

In Tennessee, school systems can tally a full day of school so long as students get in a half-day of classes. But McDade said that didn’t influence the district’s decision.

“We’re not looking at anything except student, faculty and staff safety,” he said.

But there’s no doubt the continued time out of the classroom is causing headaches for many parents.

Jenna Rogers, who lives in Flintstone, Ga., said her 5-year-old son, Jude, is going a little stir crazy without his regular preschool routine.

“School is a way he can get his energy out and socialize,” she said, “so when his routine is altered, he doesn’t recover quickly. Asking a kid to stay inside for two weeks is pretty difficult.”

Rogers is a single mother who works full time. But her mother works in a school and is able to watch her son on snow days.

“I’m pretty fortunate to have my mother,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t cause a little bit of disruption in his daily life.”

Jill Riley, who lives in Middle Valley, said her kids — ages 8, 9 and 12 — are just happy to stay at home and play video games. And she’s happy the school system is putting safety first.

“I have no complaints,” she said.

Plus, with the forecast the way it was, she was already planning on the possibility of an early dismissal day.

“It does make it hectic for us working parents,” Riley said, “But I was kind of gearing up for it.”

Staff writer Tim Omarzu contributed to this story.

Contact staff writer Kevin Hardy at khardy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.