The Oklahoma City School district is out of snow days after schools were forced to close on Wednesday and Thursday over fears that the poor students who could not afford coats could get frost bite.
"Safety is our top issue," James Buchanan Elementary School Principal Scott Kaufman told KOKH on Wednesday. "We have several students who walk to school. So their walk could be 15 to 20 minutes long."
Ninety percent of the students at Buchanan and the rest of the Oklahoma City School are poor enough to participate in the free or reduced lunch program, which means that their families live below the poverty line.
"They don't have gloves, they don't have hats. Sometimes they wear shorts," second grade teacher Kathy Buttry pointed out. "I think it's really sad and it's kind of scary."
Buchanan collects coats for poor children, but the school only has 10 coats to share with the 550 students.
But some Oklahoma residents wrote on KOKH's Facebook page that the students should tough it out.
"I walked as a kid. And I never even came close to frost bite... If you're so worried about your child, quit being lazy and find a way for them to get to school," Rheana Bryant commented.
"And people wonder why kids these days are wusses," Blake Richards opined. "Really people let's close school because its cold...... Give me a break
The Oklahoma City School District is considering adding 20 minutes to the school day or extending the school year to make up the missed days.
