WEST SENECA, N.Y. -- The snow may have cleared, but some parents of Allendale and West Elementary Schools in West Seneca are still fuming over how the district handled Thursday's snowstorm.
"This is Western New York, you have to be prepared for the worst,” said Christina Baltes. “They have evacuation plans in order at school. What's the difference of having some plan for snow we get on a regular basis?"
The district ran into a snarl after a band of lake effect snow hovered over town for most of the evening. Buses that left the school were on the roads until around 9 p.m., and dozens more were stuck at the schools into the overnight hours.
Baltes told us her kids finally returned home at 1 a.m., but how they got there has her concerned.
"I spoke to the teachers, finally, they were being taken care of overnight. I was expecting them to not be driven home by complete strangers,” Baltes said.
On the flip side, Sara Bucki had nothing but praise for staff who took care of the students despite the situation. She was able to pick up her 4th grader, John, just before midnight. Bucki also credited the community for stepping up and helping students stranded on buses.
"A neighbor coming out, simply saying 'Do the kids need to use the bathroom.' Going in their house, making macaroni and cheese, hot chocolate. Just trying to tend to those kids,” said Bucki. “That's the beauty of our community. We come together and say 'what can I do to help?'"
We've reached out multiple times to the Superintendent for comment following the whole ordeal and have not heard back. Baltes just wants answers.
"I'd like to know what you have in place if anything like this were to ever happen because obviously no one was prepared,” Baltes said.
Moving forward, Bucki said a discussion needs to be had between parents and administrators.
"Take what we know now and say okay when this happens the next time, this is how we're going to rectify those parents concerns. It's important to listen to what they're saying and important to come up with an idea of what we can change in the future,” said Bucki.