Post by Shadow on Sept 26, 2005 16:07:52 GMT -5
Breitbart
By MIKE STOBBE
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA
The governor's request that Georgia public schools take two "snow days" and close to conserve fuel did not sit well with parents who had to scramble to find baby sitters and day care for their children.
Rasheed Ahmad said he probably would have to take the day off from work Monday to look after his three daughters, ages 10, 8 and 4.
"Everybody's rushing to day care, asking do you have any vacancy for two days," said Ahmad. "And they say they don't. It's really bad."
Gov. Sonny Perdue's request Friday that schools close Monday and Tuesday was prompted by Hurricane Rita, which was bearing down on the oil refineries of the Gulf Coast.
He estimated that closing all the state's schools would save about 250,000 gallons of diesel fuel by idling buses, plus an undetermined amount of gasoline by allowing teachers, staff members and some parents to stay home. All but three of the state's 181 districts agreed.
Perdue made his decision after learning that a Houston-to-New York pipeline that supplies most of Georgia's gasoline had been shut down, said Dan McLagan, Perdue's spokesman. On Sunday, the pipeline was operating only sporadically.
If school buses had not been idled on purpose at the beginning of the week, they likely would have been shut down by empty tanks by the end of the week, McLagan said.
By MIKE STOBBE
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA
The governor's request that Georgia public schools take two "snow days" and close to conserve fuel did not sit well with parents who had to scramble to find baby sitters and day care for their children.
Rasheed Ahmad said he probably would have to take the day off from work Monday to look after his three daughters, ages 10, 8 and 4.
"Everybody's rushing to day care, asking do you have any vacancy for two days," said Ahmad. "And they say they don't. It's really bad."
Gov. Sonny Perdue's request Friday that schools close Monday and Tuesday was prompted by Hurricane Rita, which was bearing down on the oil refineries of the Gulf Coast.
He estimated that closing all the state's schools would save about 250,000 gallons of diesel fuel by idling buses, plus an undetermined amount of gasoline by allowing teachers, staff members and some parents to stay home. All but three of the state's 181 districts agreed.
Perdue made his decision after learning that a Houston-to-New York pipeline that supplies most of Georgia's gasoline had been shut down, said Dan McLagan, Perdue's spokesman. On Sunday, the pipeline was operating only sporadically.
If school buses had not been idled on purpose at the beginning of the week, they likely would have been shut down by empty tanks by the end of the week, McLagan said.
