District cites survey, staff shortage in closure

By Marcus Clem

Perhaps more than ever before, in announcing the dismissal of class this week, the St. Joseph School District told the public it really didn’t want to, and felt forced by the circumstances.

Speaking before he made the final decision, Superintendent Gabe Edgar said the moment in which it seems likely class should be canceled is familiar to all school leaders, but it is his overriding drive to do this only for reasons of student safety. When other circumstances arise, it can be frustrating. Yet it seemed obvious that staff and students would prefer to attend the NFL Super Bowl LVIII championship parade for the Kansas City Chiefs, than come to school. When enough people make such a decision, it makes operations very difficult.

“We want to offer a day of education for kids,” Edgar said. “But, we also can’t create a safety issue by not having any staffing. We can’t have teachers there covering four classes at a time.”

Kaitlyn Madsen, who has worked as an SJSD substitute teacher, said several of her friends who are full-time teachers told her they would not come in to work several days ago if the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. Madsen said she understands why, and praised the district’s decision to call Wednesday off entirely.

“We grew up with the Chiefs losing all the time,” Madsen said. “The people in the school district are people too. We’re all excited; teachers just as much as the students. A lot of places around town are closing too, so some parents won’t have work either and everyone can just go to the parade.”

The district surveyed 1,300 of its nearly 1,800 employees, and about 1,000 of those respondents said they intended to attend the parade. Edgar said he found this surprising. When his predecessor, Doug Van Zyl, decided in 2020 to dismiss class for the Super Bowl LIV parade, it was treated as a particularly special occasion. The team had not won an NFL title for five decades, and it had been five years since any pro sports championship parade had happened in the city. Then an assistant superintendent, Edgar had hoped the fervor for a parade would be lesser if it recurred.

“I figured people would back off a little bit,” Edgar said. “You know, the original intent was a celebration because somebody hasn’t won a Super Bowl in however many years, but now this is three in the last four years, or five years … Sometimes the decisions I want to make, I can’t make because of reality.”