by John Dorow ‘15
Even after Magnificat, St. Joseph Academy, and St. Edward elected to cancel their classes due to inclement weather on Wednesday, January 5, Principal Bradesca was insistent that Saint Ignatius stay open, to the dismay of many students and surprise of some faculty members who were expecting a snow day.
One of the main complaints from the students was about allegedly dangerous commutes. Throughout Northeast Ohio, snowfall and ice blanketed the streets Wednesday morning, concerning student drivers.
“The roads were awful, and we should not have been forced to come to school,” said Connor Schumacher ‘15.
Bradesca, in an e-mail to the parents, said that he decided to keep the school open due to many school districts’ decision to remain open, although students said that dangerous roads should have closed the school.
Morning commutes to Ignatius were elongated, in many cases doubled, because of the traffic. As a result, Bradesca made another decision that drew criticism from the student body.
“The delayed start status is designed to accommodate additional time needed to commute to school,” he said, explaining why he announced a delay to the start of the school day at 7:58 a.m.
After four “calamity days” had already been exhausted earlier this year, many were left wondering whether Mr. Bradesca chose to keep the school open in order to save the last of five calamity days for possible future winter storms.
However, Bradesca wanted to dispel those rumors.
“The decision to keep the school open is never based on the number of available calamity days or important events on campus,” the principal said. “The decision to close or remain open is by no means an easy one.”
