Is a heads-up too much to ask.  Apparently yes, even when you pay for it. 

In the wake of Hurricane Wilma with Broward County, FL schools faced with no power, the schools were forced to close.  My daughter attends a private Montessori that proports to follow the Broward Public School Calendar with regard to closures etc.  Also affected by the Hurricane has been phone, cellphone and internet access.  With this in mind, on Monday 31st Oct I passed by the school to see if they had regained power and whether they had left a message in any way for parents since phone calls had produced only unanswered rings. 

Sure enough there was a note on the door saying that they had no power and there was no school through Wednesday and that they'd call the parents when they regained power.  I left feeling that they were doing what they could.  I called a few other concerned parents and relayed the news.   Bear in mind that with missing traffic lights, most parents who didn't have to be on the road weren't.

On Wednesday, Broward School Board announced that there was no school for the rest of the week since insufficent schools had had power restored.  I groaned and with no information to the contrary assumed that my daughter's school would do the same.  Since I had a doctor's appointment for a 4 hour treatment on Thursday, I arranged for both my children to attend Day Care.  Imagine my surprise , when passing by the school after the doctor's appointment I find the school in full operation.  I went in and enquired as to why I didn't receive a call about the re-opening.  I was told that firstly, they only got back power on Wednesday, secondly there was never a sign on the door saying they'd call parents since it would be impossible for them to call all the parents, thirdly they had requested the TV stations to publish that they were open on Thursday and that they had put it on their website.  At first blush this all seems reasonable until you factor in the fact that many are still without power and internet and certainly no parent I know can stare at the TV for the full hour of news to ensure that they get information on their school re-opening especially after they've been repeatedly informed that the school follows Broward schedule.  Broward I'll remind you had closed school for the remainder of the week.  I saw red, the I relaxed it wasn't important enough to make a fuss about.

I left the school and informed the parents I knew that school was reopened.  On the way home it occurred to me that my attitude of "let it slide, it's not important" was wrong.  Maybe the fact that it's "not worth the effort" is why so many little things have started to be wrong in our society and why we're so grateful and pleased when someone just does their job.  We have, in the name of keeping our blood pressures down and "being reasonable" started to accept shoddy and unacceptable behaviour.

I PAY this school for my kid to get an education.  It is not Broward County's job to inform me when they are back in session, it is not the TV station's job, it is their job.  I am not asking for a freebie, I am expecting them to do what I pay for.  Instead they left it to fate and a few sound bites while I paid yet again for someone to take care of my children while I got medical attention.  That's wrong.

I've decided that enough is enough, sometimes you have to be the squeaky wheel even when your instincts are basically non-confrontational.  If you don't, it is too easy for others to play on your good nature and easy-going ways and  give you less than you deserve.