[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by 1075guy

Perhaps I'm not understanding something correctly, due to differences in the way things are done south of the 49th parallel, but I don't see size as a good reason that appeals can't be made, and pushed on the school board to make changes that are a good thing for the students. At the very least, you can hope to gain some insight as to why the rules are the way they are, rather than aimlessly complaining about them. Its much easier to work with a set of constraints when you understand why they exist.

Granted, 1075's success at dealing with our school board might also stem from the fact that the board offices, and our school are physically in the same building. Maybe my view is simply skewed.

I have a couple issues with the proposal you are making. First would be that for many teams in difficult situations, particularly in the south (Virginia, Georgia, etc.), snow storms are far less frequent. Thus, besides the fact that the cities do not have the budget to handle a large annual snowfall, people just do not anticipate it.

It will be very difficult to get a school board to change their policy in time for it to help any team currently effected by certain snow day rules. Most school boards do no move quickly, and they do so for a reason. They investigate risks, and logistics, budget implications before making what we may interpret as "simple" or "small" choices. On top of all of this, it does not make up for time already lost.

Lastly, it is important to keep in mind that even FIRST robotics must adhere to policies laid out by school boards. If a school's policy is to not allow a club to meet on any day where the school is closed, then the policy has to be respected. Some schools/teams have the ability to work a little more independent of school systems, but most HAVE to comply. We are not above certain rules just because we are a part of FIRST (not that I am implying you said that). Those rules tend to be in place to protect the school district and the people affiliated with that district.


I understand what you are trying to say, but it is simply a different situation because of the location. Every team is in their own unique situation, we need to be careful not to paint with such a broad brush when it comes to handling certain circumstances of the team.

-Brando