I live in Indianapolis, and everyone is all a-twitter with the Super Bowl. Yesterday, the superintendent of IPS (Indianapolis Public Schools) announced that Monday morning, there will be a one hour delay. There will be 30 minutes tacked on to the end of the school day because if students miss a half hour or less of school, it doesn’t need to be made up. They are delaying school because the last time the Colts went to the Super Bowl, tons of bus drivers called in sick and it was a big hassle, and some schools canceled at the last minute (as in, the night before.)
This has been the subject of a really heated debate. Personally, I think it’s ridiculous- why inconvenience parents who now need to make alternate plans for either getting their kids to school by car or waiting with them until the bus comes? It seems to me that the superintendent or person in charge of the bus drivers could say, “I remember what happened last time during the Super Bowl, so anyone calling in sick needs a doctor’s note.”
The other side of the coin is that the bus drivers will call in sick anyway, that it’s more practical because a lot of people will be late, etc. I personally know plenty of people who still have to be at work Monday morning, regardless of whether the Colts win or lose.
So- thoughts? Opinions? Do we have any New Orleans Dopers who can weigh in on the situation there?
Wasn’t an issue 'round here or in Tampa when the Buccaneers were in the Super Bowl in 2003. Of course, people around here have three NFL teams to root for and other stuff to do. If I lived in Indianapolis I’d probably accord the Super Bowl much greater importance too.
Seriously, though – I agree with the OP. There are many, many adults who couldn’t care less about the Super Bowl. And for those that do, I would be willing to bet that the majority of them are still responsible enough to show up to work the next day (in fact, I’d bet a lot of them would be excited about discussing it with their coworkers). So the idea that responsible parents are going to be given an extra headache to deal with the next day seems remarkably unfair.
I mean, hell – if it’s really that serious of an issue, maybe they ought to make the kids all go to school this coming Saturday, and then call Monday off altogether.
I sorta wish the Super Bowl was on say, President’s Day weekend where everyone’s off Monday anyway. I’ve put in for vacation/personal days in advance knowing I was prolly gonna drink on Super Bowl Sunday at someone’s party or a bar & just didn’t wanna have to go to work hungover. Especially since they keep pushing the start time later & later. Seems like having to work the day after Christmas (I think the UK is much more civilised w/Boxing Day!) or something, kinda puts a damper on things. Ah well, just one boozer’s opinion!
New Orleans native checking in. In New Orleans proper (and Orleans Parish), we have a great diversity of schools, with only a few schools run by the city school district, a lot of public charter schools, Catholic schools, other religious private schools. Neighboring parishes (counties) have a similar mix but more district public schools and fewer charter schools. All that said to get to the point that it depends on what type of school you’re going to.
Many charter schools in New Orleans will have regular school Monday after the SB. The Orleans Parish school district schools are open as well (I think). Catholic schools have been given the discretion to close; most will be closed. Not sure what the various non-Catholic private schools are doing. Public schools in neighboring Jefferson Parish will close.
Rationale: public and private schools build in hurricane days in case of evacuation. We didn’t have a storm last year so didn’t evacuate and so there are days to burn w/o affecting the total number of official school days for education.
Most people seem to realize that the kids aren’t going to get much in the way of sleep Sunday night and will be mostly worthless Monday no matter the outcome of the game. Also, per Indy, many support staff - - and possibly teachers, too - - will be mostly worthless Monday as well.
A poll by the local radio station shows that 57% of their respondents claim to be taking Monday off.
There has been some push over the last few years to move the Super Bowl to a Saturday evening, instead of Sunday, for the very reasons listed in the OP, not just for the host city, but because of the numerous nationwide Super Bowl parties that exist.
The NFL and the broadcasters have resisted, but who knows.
Is a one hour push back going to make any difference?
Drunk hung-over bus driver won’t be ready for his route at 6:30 but will be bright and shiny ready to go at 7:30??
I think that’s ridiculous. With the economy the way it is, the city should be able to acquire backup bus drivers if there is a need for them. If the bus drivers’ union is too strong to allow that, I see it as a problem. The point is about the education of the kids, and there is no way I can see bus drivers’ unscheduled absences supporting that goal.
If it were up to me, I’d keep the regular schedule, hold a meeting in advance, and tell everyone (bus drivers, teachers, administrators, whoever) that Monday is a regular day. If you call out sick and cannot produce a doctor’s note, you will be fired. If you show up inebriated or impaired, you will be fired. If you can’t deal with watching a football game and still showing up to work in the morning, you should have scheduled a vacation day in advance.
Then again, I think football is an absolutely worthless sport, and I’d be quite happy if we could require some sort of badge of shame for those who must spend six hours watching fat men waddle around in pants, interspersed with commercial breaks where a CGI squirrel that cost eight million dollars to render tries to sell you the services of an investment firm. The Super Bowl pretty much represents everything that’s wrong with our society.
