Wayland High Students Dig Out; Wayland Superintendent Explains School Decision

"We're in worse shape than we were during the blizzard," Wayland Highway Director Stephen Kadlik said late Friday morning.

As snow continued to fly in a storm that was originally forecasted to bring only 3-6 inches to Wayland, Kadlik said that crews were having trouble keeping up, that pieces of equipment weren't in full working order and that school parking lots ... well, they couldn't really be plowed because student and teacher vehicles filled the lots.

And that school situation was one that had parents asking plenty of questions. Schools systems throughout the area closed their doors and kept students home Friday, but Wayland students -- the resilient ones -- charged on to classes.

Wayland High School senior Chris Mulhern said he drove into school this morning via numerous unplowed streets to find "only about five students" in his first class.

When he headed to the parking lot at 1:15 p.m., his Taurus was buried under about 7 inches of snow, which he dug out from under after helping a friend clear his own car.

As seniors began to trickle out of WHS, they grabbed whatever shovels they could find and set to the task of digging out their cars, and their classmates' cars, as bulldozers and snow plows tried to clear the driving aisles.

In an email announcement Friday afternoon, Stein apologized for the decision to hold classes, a choice that "in retrospect, was an unfortunate decision even though the decision made sense at the time it was made."

Stein said in the announcement that he spoke with Wayland staff at about 5 a.m. regarding the condition of roads and parking lots.

"At that time, I was assured that when the schools opened the roads and parking lots would be plowed," Stein wrote. "Unfortunately, the storm picked up significantly by 6 a.m. -- after which it was too late to call a delayed opening."

The storm proved to "far exceed" the forecast in terms of intensity and duration, Stein continued.

Nancy Wind said on the Wayland Patch page on Facebook that she kept her high school son home today since their road wasn't plowed until noon.

Lori Greenberg also posted her thoughts, commenting at about 9 a.m., "I am off Stonebridge and haven't been plowed but the superintendent expected my child at school by 7:20? Endangering our children and parents by having them driving unplowed and dangerous roads is unacceptable."

Stein's announcement, however, said that he made his decision "based on the information I had available and not -- as some have asked -- based on a perceived strict or rigid policy unique to Wayland."

"I will always make my decisions with safety in mind," Stein said.