Pittsburgh Public Schools blames technical glitch for late notice about 2-hour delay
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Some say the best part of a two-hour delay is the moment you hear the news, but parents in one school district didn't hear anything for quite a while.
It caused a ripple effect of kids standing at bus stops and hopping on city buses headed straight to closed schools.
Cold, soaking wet, slushy and miserable are just some words to describe the weather prompting a two-hour delay across many school districts, including Pittsburgh Public Schools, on Tuesday.
"I heard it raining and I'm like, OK, it's raining. And then I'm like, no, there's ice and snow. And mind you, I live in the middle of a hill, so even to get to my car, I'm sled riding down the hill," said Robin Austin, parent of a Pittsburgh Public School student.
A chaotic morning at best for Austin as she tried to get herself and her ninth grader out the door on Tuesday. Thankfully, her friend told her about the district's delay.
"I said, 'Well, I don't know anything about it.' And she goes, 'Yeah, I seen it on Facebook.' ... Some people don't have time to check Facebook. Some people don't even have Facebook."
She's one of many Pittsburgh Public School parents who didn't get the usual robocalls until it was too late. Mother of two Ghadah Makoshi described her morning as a false start.
"My oldest kid's school starts at 7:40 a.m. They were already on the way, almost at school when we got the calls, and they had to turn back. The kids that have to take city buses had already left an hour, an hour and a half before. The communication was awful," said Makoshi.
Ebony Pugh, a spokeswoman for Pittsburgh Public Schools, told KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller a technical glitch delayed the calls by 48 minutes Tuesday morning. The district's social media posts hit the internet by 6:23 AM, but not everyone checked. The district said students who did not make it to class will receive excused absences due to the glitch.
Someone posted on the Pittsburgh Public Schools post and asked if the children who got to school early would be let in the building, to which Pittsburgh Public responded, "They are able to get in the school."
Makoshi told KDKA-TV she did not witness that unfolding at Pittsburgh Montessori.
"Absolutely not," said Makoshi."It happened at the high schools, but it did not happen at the elementary schools. One of the schools I called and said you have kids on buses that have been let out and are just standing out in the rain."
KDKA-TV took her concerns about Pittsburgh Montessori to Pittsburgh Public and was told the district did not have any information to confirm Makoshi's claim.
