WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — As snow battered Waterford Township, kids who would normally be in the classroom headed to local hills to sled.
"It’s just fun, fun family quality time," said Stacey Wagner who has three students in Waterford School District.
Wagner says it wasn’t until 7 am that she would learn this is what she’d spend her day doing.
"Last night, pretty late maybe about 9:30 at night they said we had a half a day and then this morning about 7 a.m. they called school off," said Wagner of the district's announcement of a snow day. "Thankfully I have Wednesdays off so it was pretty easy for me to figure out but you know it was rough with my middle schoolers because they were already up getting ready."
Some parents say the call came even later for them.
"Last night we got a call saying that there was going to be a half day of school because they thought the weather was going to come in later today but then this morning as I'm watching the TV all of the schools around Waterford are being closed but Waterford was still open," said one WSD parent who didn't want to be identified. "We get to the school and there’s a line of cars, parents everywhere, teachers pulling into the parking lot and the principals are out there telling us 'Nope! Nope! Go back. We don’t have school, they just called it."
The parent says the late announcement to close school meant she was late for work and driving unnecessarily when road conditions were poor.
"All the parents that had to go to work right afterwards, after dropping their kids off, couldn’t. They had to go home, drop their kids back off, then go back into work," she said. "Somebody dropped the ball. It should have been called. It shouldn’t have been a half day to begin with. Like I said all the other schools around here were being closed, why not Waterford."
In a notice on the districts website, school officials wrote, "Due to the updated inclement weather forecast, all schools are closed Wednesday, January 25, 2023."
The district went on to say all after-school child care and activities at the Waterford Senior Center and pool fitness center would also be closed.
7 Action News attempted to get an interview with district officials about what factors go into the decision to close school and why they waited until Wednesday to notify parents. No one was immediately available for comment.
While some parents say this has been frustrating, they say they're making the most of it.
"Winter finally showed up and they’re hoping there’s no school tomorrow," said Wagner.
The district has not announced if classes will resume Thursday for WSD Students. The district website advises parents to check back for updates.
