Some Cretin-Derham Hall high school students figured they'd go straight to the top to get their school closed for the cold.
"I had two high school students from Cretin-Derham Hall who came unannounced to the residence last night in the middle of a cold snap to make a special plea for closing that school," Gov. Mark Dayton said on Monday.
The governor, who ordered all schools closed for one day early this month, said the kids at the Catholic high school had been told that if the governor ordered all schools closed their school would follow so they took their shot.It was not to be. Dayton said he applauded the students' gumption but would not order their school closed.
Update: Mona Passman, Cretin-Derham principal, said Cretin-Derham will be closed on Tuesday. But, she said, the students' plea to the governor had no impact on that decision.
Dayton said in general school closure decisions are "best left to the local school districts" but early this month the circumstances were so unusual that he felt the need to close schools statewide.
"I don't intend to do any more of that unless there are extreme circumstances," he said.
The early January decision sat well with one constituency, he said.
"I must say I've received overwhelming support from everybody who can't vote until the next decade," Dayton joked. "A little girl about in the third or fourth grade wrote me a card that said: "Mark, I love you, You are the bomb-dot-com."
Many schools districts to close on their own on Monday, although Cretin-Derham Hall was not among them. Many others have already declared another cold-closure on Tuesday. See the most recent list of Tuesday-closed schools here.
