Rochester Public Schools Superintendent Kent Pekel is getting rave reviews after posting a video mocking his own decision to cancel school Thursday amid the threat of developing blizzard conditions in southeastern Minnesota.
Pekel drove his Kia Optima to different schools in the district and sarcastically mocked the weather, which was brutally cold but otherwise sunny and nowhere near blizzard criteria, which demands sustained or frequent wind gusts to 35 mph or greater and considerable falling and/or blowing snow for at least three hours.
“As many of you may have noticed, it’s actually beautiful outside and the roads are good so I’m wondering if this was the right decision,” Pekel said at noon Thursday. He then ventured to different schools in the district and mocked himself amid cold but clear conditions.
“I can hardly see my hand in front of my face,” he joked. “I never could’ve made it out here to Bamber Valley Elementary School in these terrible road conditions if I didn’t have an incredibly powerful all-terrain vehicle like my Kia Optima. If you don’t have an amped up car like mine, don’t go out you’re never going to make it.”
“Thank God I made it back alive,” he mocked from inside his office. “Clearly the right decision to call a snow day today. Certainly the worst conditions that have ever existed in Rochester history, maybe in American history.”
Parents in the district seemed to get a laugh out of Pekel’s sense of humor.
- “Love your sense of humor with a decision that you know will never be approved by all parents. Keep up the great work!”
- “Thanks for your sense of humor and happy holidays! We are lucky to have you at RPS!
- “I once asked a lady from Howard Winneshiek why they always cancel first even if it’s not that bad of weather. She told me that years ago they had a fatal bus crash. Better safe than sorry!”
- “As a fellow administrator who’s stressed about these difficult decisions I so appreciate your self deprecating humor. Made my day!”
The blizzard warning didn’t start until 6 p.m.
Bill Graul, the chief meteorologist at WKBT-TV in La Crosse and Eau Claire, didn’t get a response on Twitter when he asked Pekel what weather source he used to make the decision.
But in a letter to families following snow days last week, Pekel explained that decisions are made after thorough conversations with the transportation manager and a chat with a member of the staff at the National Weather Service in La Crosse, which covers the Rochester area.
Pekel provided the explanation last week because he was caught by surprise by the snowfall in Rochester on Thursday, Dec. 15, which was several inches more than expected.
“Knowing what we know now, I would have canceled school on Thursday,” Pekel wrote to parents.
“There are three primary factors that go into the decision to cancel school due to inclement weather: road conditions, visibility, and projections for incoming weather during the course of the day,” Pekel’s letter added
Bring Me The News reached out to the NWS La Crosse to see what its recommendation was Thursday.
As for mocking the weather conditions, the actual blizzard warning didn’t go into effect until 6 p.m. Thursday in Rochester, so whiteout conditions weren’t anticipated by the weather service during the school day.
The wind chill, however, was brutal all day. As winds increased during the afternoon, the wind chill in Rochester at 6 p.m. was -43F. By 9:30 a.m. Friday the wind chill was still -40F, though Friday was a scheduled day off for the district’s holiday break.
