Superintendent Faces Backlash After Not Canceling School

CAMBRIDGE (CBS) – The superintendent for Cambridge schools is facing backlash after he decided not to cancel class Thursday while the city dug out from a snow storm the day before.

Many parents sounded off, with some taking to social media calling the decision "ridiculous."

Superintendent Kenneth Salim is defending his decision receiving "a number of messages questioning whether we made the right judgment call."

"I think that I really appreciated that Doctor Salim was really transparent about their decision making process and that he really seemed to have taken into account the concerns that we voiced to him," Obadia explained.

In a letter to parents, the superintendent listed reasons behind the decision.

Salim said there was no parking ban put in place, no state of emergency and crews believed they could plow parking lots and bus lanes in time.

"Although conditions were generally calm here in Cambridge, we recognize that it was difficult for staff members to make it into the City from many neighboring communities," Salim told parents. "We also understand that some families will choose to keep their children home from school. In general, most schools reported above average teacher and student absence."

One school in particular had a significant number of staff absences, Salim said.

The superintendent assured parents that he took the situation "very seriously" and made the decision based on available information.

"We will learn from this experience and continually strive to improve our practices," Salim wrote.

Christopher Vuk runs Rock & Roll Day Care and goes with whatever the district decides in these situations.

"We had some challenges getting all of our staff in because of the weather issues but we were open. We didn't have as many kids attending yesterday," he said.

Parent Jennifer Obadia was impressed by Salim's letter explaining what went into the decision.

"I think that I really appreciated that Doctor Salim was really transparent about their decision making process and that he really seemed to have taken into account the concerns that we voiced to him," Obadia explained.