MONROEVILLE, Pa. — Some furious parents in the Gateway School District contacted Channel 11 News after receiving a letter to appear in court for their children’s unexcused absences from school.
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Instead of going to work Wednesday, some parents reported to the Magistrate’s Office in Monroeville and waited hours for their hearings.
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Two of them said their children only had four unexcused absences, which school officials said is against policy.
“It's just ridiculous,” parent Jim Greenwalt said. "Four unexcused absences and they were on the first week of school for a family trip to Chicago."
Greenwalt was one of 25 parents who went to resolve their child’s problem with absences.
"Someone from the school district says, 'Your daughter missed four days. We messed up. Sorry for wasting your time,’” Greenwalt said.
He wasn’t the only one upset.
"I'm very unhappy with Gateway. I'm at the point where I want to take my daughter out of the Gateway School District,” another parent, who didn’t want to be identified, said.
The woman said her daughter, who is in eighth grade, also had four unexcused absences, which she said should have been counted as medical excuses.
"I just got a letter that I have to come here to see the judge. There was no warning. There was no phone call,” the woman said.
A spokeswoman for the Gateway School District said they followed school policy, which states that “any student under 17 with three unexcused absences will subject their parent to a fine.”
After three unexcused absences, the parent is sent a notice, the spokeswoman said.
Channel 11 News learned that no parents were fined Wednesday.
The next Gateway School Board meeting is scheduled for March 1. Both parents who spoke with Channel 11 News said they plan to attend the meeting.