City streets dept. denies telling MMSD roads were OK

by Site Contributor

Ferre' Dollar/CNN

Parents of students in the Madison Metropolitan School District won’t be penalized for keeping kids home Tuesday, despite that schools didn’t close for inclement weather, a school representative said.

MMSD spokeswoman Liz Merfeld said the district decided not to close Tuesday after it consulted with city’s public transit agency and the school’s meteorologist.

Earlier Tuesday, the school claimed it spoke with the Madison streets division at about 4 a.m. and was told the streets were safe to drive on, even if roads weren’t in ideal condition.

Madison Streets Department spokesman Bryan Johnson said none of the four members of the department who would be able to provide street-condition information to the district Tuesday morning spoke to anyone from the schools.

“I’m unclear where (MMSD) obtained their road condition information since it does not appear to have come from our staff,” Johnson told News 3. “We would’ve told them conditions are very slick out there. If it’s challenging for our vehicles it’s definitely going to be challenging for school buses.”

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Merfeld didn’t say the district spoke directly to the city’s streets division.

“Based on the information we had available, which included consultation with Metro Transit, who works closely with City Streets, and our meteorologist, we made a decision to stay open,” Merfeld said in a statement to News 3 Tuesday afternoon.

An email from the Madison Streets superintendent received at about 4:50 a.m. advised motorists to be extra careful on the roads if had to travel, characterizing the morning commute as “treacherous.”

“Everyone traveling in the city should be cautious on the roads,” the department said. “And that’s worth repeating. Be cautious on the roads this morning.”

The state Department of Transportation also deemed several major roads not advisable for travel Tuesday morning, including Highway 12 between Monona and Middleton; Highway 151 between Madison and Dodgeville; Highway 14 between Madison and Lone Rock; and Highway 12 between Middleton and Wisconsin Dells.

Merfeld said she was unaware of the city’s advisory and state patrol’s recommendation that motorists stay off the Beltline.

“While we had a safe morning and only minor issues with our transportation to school, we acknowledge that additional information from the city and state would have been helpful,” Merfeld said in the afternoon statement.

Merfeld told News 3 at about 9 a.m. that parents would not be penalized if they kept their students home Tuesday.

Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham said Tuesday afternoon the district will revisit its “processes and procedures to ensure the best information for our decision-making process in the future.”

“There are some critical pieces of information that we could’ve looked at this morning,” Cheatham said. “Safety is so incredibly important, and making a promise to our community that we are always making the best decision possible with the information we can find.”

All district travel and any school activities requiring travel into the city were canceled Tuesday, according to the districts. After-school programming may continue until 6 p.m.