By Stowell P. Watters
Staff Writer
    Maine School Administrative District 71 (MSAD 71) Superintendent Dr. Tom Farrell has been receiving some heat from parents who, among other things, have called him an “idiot,” “stupid” and “crazy” for closing the district’s schools only twice this winter season. At a recent school board meeting Farrell explained how he received these remarks through phone calls and emails.
    “You have to expect that though,” he said. “The kids are sometimes a bit more respectful than their parents, some of the students joke around and call me Klondike Tom.”
    After the storm two weeks ago, when Portland, Wells and Standish school districts all closed, Farrell said he received “hundreds of calls” from irate parents, some telling him to move south and relinquish his position as superintendent because he did not call school off. But Farrell said he is confident those same people would be just as mad if their children had to be in school during the summer, making up for lost time. Every school district adjacent to MSAD 71 has taken three or more snow days thus far. Portland has taken four.
    MSAD 71 has five free snow days students do not have to make up in the summer if they are missed due to poor weather. Underclassmen have to attend 175 days of school while seniors only need to attend 170. A huge factor behind not closing school, Farrell said, is so the planned graduation does not have to be pushed back by make-up days.
    “And beyond that, everyone knows those summer days are not the best for education, not like the winter when students tend to buckle down a bit more,” Farrell said.
    This does not, however, mean that Farrell is any less attentive to the safety concerns of parents, he said. Farrell said some even question the process by which he makes his decision to close schools. But Farrell, who acted as superintendent in Aspen, Colo., said he is all too familiar with winter cancellations.
    “If I know a storm is coming, my day starts at 4 a.m.,” he said.
    Farrell wakes up, makes a quick breakfast and then heads out in his truck – with the 4-wheel-drive disabled.
    “I try to simulate the worse possible scenario, I give the brakes a check, on an empty stretch of road of course,” he said.
    Farrell drives around for a half an hour to get a feel for the roads and then he calls Russ Merley, an MSAD 71 contracted independent meteorologist. Merley provides Farrell with what he called a “pinpoint weather forecast.”
    “The great thing about our service is we tell people what is happening exactly where they are, not in Portland,” said Merley whose company, Precision Weather, offers weather predictions for both private users and businesses such as MSAD 71. “Most people just watch the news and they get this blanket forecast which is not accurate town to town.”
    During the aforementioned snow day, in which every school in southern Maine aside from MSAD 71 schools closed for the day, Farrell had been supplied with data from Merley, which showed the Kennebunk area in the eye of the storm, therefore receiving less precipitation than surrounding areas.
    This exact information gives Farrell what he calles the “confidence” to make a good decision, but even then he does not make the call. Farrell calls the Maine Department of Transportation  and MSAD 71 Director of Transportation Tom Maines. Maines in return, speaks with his mechanics – who have been driving in the early morning – and gives Farrell his opinion.
    “What we are thinking is, with the manpower we have are we going to be able to clear out the sidewalks, entrances and parking lots before the kids get there, before the teachers get there even,” Maines said.
    After this, Farrell said he usually calls Arundel Superintendent Alton Hadley. While Hadley’s call doesn’t totally influence Farrell’s decision he said it “helps thicken my skin if I am going to be calling it.”
    He makes the call around 5 a.m., sometimes after a second drive around his Kennebunk home. In approximately 20 minutes, through a group of designated call people, all of the teachers and numerous staff members are contacted and told to stay home – if the weather warrants a closure. Farrell contacts local news stations and the approximately 2,000 member student body is aware of any closures by the time school would start at 7:30 a.m.
    Farrell does not like to have students go to school late or leave early because he said it is a waste of taxpayer dollars, as teachers are paid for the entire day.
    “Folks need to consider those two hours and just how much money they are worth to the taxpayers of this town, while safety is number one, I have to be sensitive to the taxpayers,” Farrell said.
    This winter season there have been no accidents on any of the district’s 24 school buses. Farrell said he has the safety of the children forthright in his mind, but also respects the wishes of their parents.
    “If a parent thinks it is unsafe to have their child in school we will excuse the absence, every time without question,” Farrell said.
    Although he has received no apologies from parents, Farrell said he is confident in his system.
    “Do parents actually think I would intentionally endanger our students? I find that to be the most hurtful thing,” Farrell said. “But at the same time I understand. This is Maine, we all have to deal with the roads.”
        To contact Stowell P. Watters, call 282-4337 ext. 219 or email news@kennebunkpost.com.