Here are two documents about the school closings:

One is a press release from the Citizens for Progressive Transit:

PRESS RELEASE
Sunday, Monday 26, 2005
Contact: Rebecca Serna
(404) [XXX-XXXX]
à Commuters to Governor Perdue: send emergency funds to public transportation
Advocacy group says school closings wrong response; calls for emergency funds for
increased transit service and greater use of public transportation by public officials.
Working families, already hard-hit by rising transportation costs, are scrambling to make lastminute
arrangements for childcare after the Governor announced schools will close Monday
and Tuesday.
The recent spate of hurricanes and subsequent high gas prices sparked demand for public
transportation in metro Atlanta. In response, Gwinnett County Transit increased service on
its popular express bus routes, and MARTA increased the frequency of train service
temporarily.
MARTA and other transit agencies across the state also acted quickly to provide emergency
transportation for the displaced after the flooding of New Orleans.
“Although the Georgia State House of Representatives passed a timely resolution highly
commending MARTA for its ‘magnanimous deeds in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,’”
said Citizens for Progressive Transit President Rebecca Serna, “this written commendation is
not enough. New waves of people are using public transportation for their commutes, and
transit agencies need more than words to keep up with the increased demand -- they need
the state to invest in the mode of transportation that makes the most sense for the times.”
Citizens for Progressive Transit, representing both existing and prospective riders, asks
Governor Perdue and the state legislature to respond as quickly as they did in suspending the
gas tax when gas prices first spiked, to authorize emergency funds to assist victims of
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well Georgia families whose transportation budgets are
stretched thin.
A Pew study indicates strong support for public transportation. Sixty-eight percent of
respondents in a Pew Research Center poll taken in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
support increased funding for mass transit.
“Now is the time to support public transportation. The Governor should alleviate the
burden on families and hurricane victims as well as everyone stuck in traffic by allocating
emergency state funds for transit and calling on Georgians who live in places where public
transportation is available to use it,” said Citizens for Progressive Transit member Josh
Woiderski.

I personally have noticed a strong run on transit cards. I hope I can get an October monthly! I support increased funding for mass transit. I wonder if it would be helpful for me to send a letter about this to the governor, as I don't vote in Georgia. If I stay here though, I'll get my registration changed.

Parents Plan 'Snow Day' Protests
Web Editor: Ian Stinson
Last Modified: 9/26/2005 11:54:25 AM

Some parents plan to protest the two-days of "snow days" requested by
Gov. Sonny Perdue in advance of Hurricane Rita striking the Gulf Coast.

On Friday, the governor requested that all Georgia schools close for
two days to conserve fuel after Rita. All but three of Georgia's 181
school systems voluntarily went along with the governor's request.

Now, some angry parents are planning to take their children to the
state capitol Monday and hold a protest on the lawn. Some others said
they would take their children straight to the governor's mansion. The
reason: they are upset that they must find day care for their
children, or stay home from work.

The governor made the decision Friday afternoon, 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 sporadically.

"The politically safe thing to would be to do nothing, and then blame
the hurricane for any subsequent problems. But that's not leadership,"
McLagan said.

Perdue's decision had ripple effects.

It was immediately criticized by Secretary of State Cathy Cox, a
Democratic gubernatorial candidate, who called the school closings a
"stunt."

Some parents said it's a lot of trouble for a hurricane that didn't
turn out to be as bad as predicted - especially for parents of public
school children.

"People still have to go to work, and the freeways are still going to
be packed. I mean I could see if the governor said, 'All right,
everybody stay home Monday and Tuesday!' " said Kyle Glenn, 44,
stepmother of a 10-year-old pupil at Fulton County's Mimosa Elementary
School.

Although Perdue doesn't have the authority to shut down private
businesses, he did ban all nonessential travel by state employees and
called on businesses to conserve fuel.


Today I noticed kids fricking everywhere. Kids in Doc Chey's, kids in CVS, I swear, even kids in the school library! I think that the gas spent driving these kids around might have offset the savings. However, everyone remember to conserve gas. Even the President says we should. Combine trips, use public transit, walk places, etc.