Heavy amounts of snow in the Boston area – in an unusually short period of time – prompted a North Shore school district superintendent to close six school for the rest of the week out of fear of potential roof collapses.

The Pentucket Regional School District – which is comprised of six schools across Merrimac, Groveland and West Newbury – will be closed through Feb. 13. With school vacation scheduled for the week of Feb. 16 to Feb. 20, students aren’t slated to return to class until Feb. 23.

In a letter addressed to Pentucket schools parents and staff members, district superintendent Jeff Mulqueen wrote: “Our weather pattern of frequent, high intensity snow storms raised my concern as our grounds crew completed clean up late [Monday] afternoon.”

Specifically, Mulqueen’s letter addressed the heavy build-up of snow on the roofs of the district’s school buildings.

“Typically, the snow has sufficient time to melt between storms so that the total weight remains within a low range,” the superintendent wrote. “That has not been the case during the last couple of weeks. Recent snow storms and the storms predicted for the next few days raised my level of concern.”


Mulqueen briefed selectmen from each of the three towns in the Pentucket school district during a Monday night meeting, according to the Newburyport Daily News. Mulqueen confirmed with the paper – which published its story shortly before 9 p.m. Monday night – that Pentucket schools would remain closed until Feb. 23.

The superintendent addressed the reasoning behind the extended closure in his letter:

While we all agreed that the snow needed to be removed as quickly as possible, we also realized that it would take some time today to contact contractors and develop a schedule. The best course of action was to cancel school through the remaining days of this week to implement our strategy.

Mulqueen’s letter was posted on the Pentucket schools website Tuesday morning; however, some parents were angry that they heard about the extended closure from the Newburyport Daily News first.

One comment on Newburyportnews.com reads:

I received nothing from PRSD as well and sent an email to Superintendent Mulqueen for clarification. I find it very odd parents in the district have been sent nothing before this story posted. If true, the safety of the staff and students is paramount. However, I would be appalled parents were not notified to start making care plans for their children at the earliest opportunity.

Another commenter expressed confusion:

Is there some mystery that snow is heavy? That roofs need to be maintained? That our taxes are paying for our officials to have enough basic common knowledge to do what needs be done to prepare for a snow storm we knew about well in advance of a week? Coming after a storm that was equally predicted and understood both intensity and magnitude.

In his letter, Mulqueen called the paper’s report a “premature release of information,” adding that it “interrupted the usual flow of thorough communication that parents and staff have become accustomed to in Pentucket.”

The superintendent further wrote: “The report of schools being inoperable through next week is an exaggeration. Our vacation week serves as an added cushion of time for us to remediate the difficulties.”

The Newburyport Daily News report touches on a binding agreement between Pentucket school district towns – Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury. Under the agreement, district towns must cover the cost of “‘extraordinary repairs’ to their individual elementary school building(s) as they meet the requirements of a capital project,” the Newburyport Daily News reports.

Mulqueen concluded his letter by reminding parents and school staff members, “Pentucket will need to develop a plan that addresses our requirement for 180 days of school.”

 

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