Enfield Superintendent Explains Monday School Closing

ENFIELD, CT — Classes in Enfield schools were cancelled Monday, and a number of parents reacted angrily to the last-minute decision despite a message Sunday from Superintendent of Schools Chris Drezek indicating such a situation may arise, depending on staffing levels.

Just before 6 a.m., Drezek made the decision to cancel classes for the day, following reports from the Smyth Bus Co. that numerous drivers had called out, leaving a severe shortage of transportation.

In a lengthy message to the school community Sunday, Drezek wrote, "I have no idea what our staffing levels will be on a daily basis. I take no pride in saying this, but for the next few weeks, it will be a day-to-day decision on whether one or all of our schools can open."

Drezek clarified the situation in a phone call with Patch Monday afternoon. He said he received multiple calls from the bus company, beginning at 3:45 a.m. By the time of the last call, at 5:49 a.m., it was apparent there would not be enough drivers to ensure timely transportation to and from schools.

"They were talking about having to do double runs, which meant elementary kids waiting at bus stops for unknown periods of time in 17-degree weather," Drezek said. "You never want to make a decision that late in the morning. I know how much of an inconvenience it is for parents but unfortunately, we were completely out of bus drivers. So I had to make the unfortunate call to cancel school for today.”

In his Sunday letter, Drezek outlined a number of plans, which he said had "changed multiple times" following guidance from the Connecticut State Department of Education and the Connecticut State Department of Public Health. One point spelled out clearly was:

In the event that an individual school or the district is forced to close because of staffing issues due to COVID, that day or days will be treated as a traditional snow day and will be made up prior to the end of the school year.

The full message from Drezek may be read here.