Parents and School Board president in the dark on morning situation at JFK Middle School
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By KRISTEN COPELAND
Story Created:
Apr 29, 2008 at 10:59 AM EST
Story Updated:
Apr 30, 2008 at 8:58 AM EST
UTICA - A minor electrical malfunction at JFK sparked some major confusion between the middle school and the superintendent's office.
Students were evacuated from the building around 9 a.m. Tuesday morning. The Utica City School District decided to release the kids on an emergency dismissal.
The problem - the kids never went home. They stayed in school.
According to the Utica Fire Department, it all started with an over-heated motor in the technology wing of the school. Firefighters responded, took care of the situation, and told school officials classes could resume.
By that time, the Superintendent's office had already contacted the media saying the students were sent home, when in fact, they were not.
So where was the break in the communication line?
NEWSChannel 2 called the Superintendent's Office and the middle school several times...each time getting different stories.
Finally, Superintendent Marilyn Skermont said "It was a miscommunication that needs to be addressed with the faculty."
That "miscommunication" is not sitting well with parents.
"I'm like - 'okay, what's going on?'" said Colleen Ledger, a parent. "The safety guard down there...security didn't know. She's saying maybe they're going on a field trip. There's no way, we would have known that."
"She said there was a fire at the school," said Mark Sharp, a step-parent. "There were three fire trucks. That's the only thing I got from her. I didn't get anything from the school."
"I can't even believe there was miscommunication between the two, especially since one was saying they were sent home and the other not sending them home," said Michael Wright, a parent. "I can't believe it."
About 50 students were taken out of school by their parents following the situation, and parents were not the only ones left in the dark today.
We spoke with School Board President Barbara Klein who got an email about the emergency dismissal and was shocked to hear the kids were not really sent home.
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