Snow-packed sidewalks, bus stops force Brentwood School District to continue remote learning today
Brentwood schools are the only on Long Island not to return to normal in-person learning today.
Students in Brentwood, Long Island's largest school district, are learning from home for the second day in a row today due to ongoing safety concerns about the roads, sidewalks and bus stops following Monday's blizzard.
Brentwood Superintendent of Schools Wanda Ortiz-Rivera said in a letter to the community that school officials conducted a thorough review of neighborhood conditions after holding a remote day on Wednesday.
"While some areas have improved, there are still a number of streets with significant snow accumulation, narrow roadways with cars parked along snowbanks and bus stops that remain heavily covered," she wrote. "At this time, we cannot ensure that every walking route and bus stop provides a safe and secure space for our children."
Ortiz-Rivera said the concern was for both students who walk to school, who would have to be in the road with many areas still impassable and for buses that could have difficulty navigating narrow streets.
"At this time, we cannot ensure that every walking route and bus stop provides a safe and secure space for our children," Ortiz-Rivera wrote.
The decision comes after students were off last week for winter break and follows traditional snow days on Monday and Tuesday due to the storm. Every other district on the island returned to in-person learning today.
Some parents applauded the decision, thanking the district for prioritizing student safety, while others were upset, as they scrambled to figure out childcare or how they would get to work.
"It's better for the kids to actually, physically be in school," Brentwood resident Dave Rampersad said. "I understand that we have snow days, but the roads should be cleaned up, so we can resume back to normal work and normal school."
Islip Town Department of Public Works Commissioner Thomas Owens said too many residents left their cars out on the roads during Monday's storm, which hindered the plows. He said the town held an aggressive campaign urging everyone to move their cars into their driveways or onto their lawns before the snow started.
"We cannot stress enough the importance of moving cars off the road and into a driveway or onto the lawn during a snowstorm to allow for plowing curb to curb," he said. "Town officials are ticketing vehicles left in the road during a snow emergency."
He added that it is the property or business owner's responsibility to clear the sidewalks in front of their properties.
"We're concentrating on school areas as we speak, Owens said. "We want to get these kids back in school, obviously. We're working together with the school districts."
The sidewalks immediately in front of Brentwood High School were cleared today and the district said the Building and Grounds Department and Safety Team have been working around the clock to prepare the schools for a safe return.
The letter did not comment on a plan for Friday, only saying "we remain hopeful that we will resume in-person instruction very soon."
When asked if the district would return to in-person learning on Friday, News 12 was told the district doesn't have anything to share outside of yesterday's letter.
