Worcester Schools Have Five Snow Days In A Mild Winter

WORCESTER (CBS) - Worcester eighth-grader Rex Otchere was wondering today why he was shoveling slushy ice outside his home and not sitting in a classroom.

"I looked outside and didn't think we needed a snow day," said Otchere.

In a winter that's considered mild by New England standards, Worcester has already called five school cancellations due to weather. With the sun shining today, parent Danielle Chase says all you need is a little rock salt on the snow-covered sidewalks to get the kids going.

"Maybe if we had a two-hour delay it would have been better," said Chase.

But Worcester called a snow day yesterday and today, and Superintendent of Schools Maureen Binienda says she has no regrets. Schools shuttered yesterday because of the timing of the impending storm, which arrived around 1 p.m. before school let out.

"We use 90 buses four times out, and the last tier would not have gotten home until 3:15," said Binienda.

It meant parent Horace Fulton had to miss two days of work. "I think they should have had a half day yesterday. The snow didn't start until 1 or 2, and that's a full day of school right there," said Fulton.

The superintendent has to make the call by 4:30 a.m. to give bus drivers enough notice. At that time today, icy sidewalks, especially in the Worcester hills, were still being reported. "I think we made the right call every single time. We did it for the safety of all our students," said Binienda.

But eighth-grader Anthony Burgos is now looking at the calendar. "There's definitely been too many, and they'll only make us do it at the end of the year."

The hope is March will come and go like a lamb and the snow days won't continue to add up.