NJ School Districts misuse of Robocalls

April 22, 2009

NJ School Districts misuse of Robocalls

When the school district phone number pops up on my caller ID, it gives me that nervous jittery feeling. I hate that feeling, it is the same feeling of dread that I get when the phone rings before AM or after PM that is reserved for "someone is in the hospital or died". When the school calls me it means one thing - something happened to my child or my child is sick. The exception to this being for snow days or early dismissal/delayed openings which the school district uses an auto-dialer for (often at AM, sometimes multiple times).

Last evening I received a phone call from my 2nd graders school. Since it was well after school hours and my son was home, I thought it was odd for the school to be calling at that hour. I picked up to a Robocall. Clearly it wasn't going to be a snow day, but we were having a torrential downpour and a thunderstorm so I thought it might be a school closing or delay of some kind. (I hoped not).

It wasn't about a school closing or delay though. Instead, on the phone was the school principal with a message to parents about the school budget elections with a message and a reminder to vote. I made a mental note to work going to my polling center into my Tuesday errand schedule and chocked the phone call off as a slight annoyance.

Then today I received a second call from the school. This time when the phone number popped up I did have that panic attack feeling because both my kids were at school - Aw crap, who got hurt or threw up.. this time?

Suckered again! Another Robocall. Turns out this time it was an auto-dialer from the School board Superintendent with essentially the same message. And this is an emergency, how? This usage of the emergency messaging system for voting reminders seems to be an accepted practice across the state as residents in North Jersey are similarly riled.

I vented about it on my twitter because I hate robocalls. I received back a friendly reply that in NJ political robocalls are illegal.

I don't know what is more annoying.... The use of the emergency parent notification system to hound parents to vote for the budget or my preschooler coming home from school with a construction paper voting hat (they had the same one on election day too, it was cuter then) and also stickers on her hands and cheeks with the word "Yes" on them.

I sit her shaking my head back and forth. Hey school district, I think I got the message already (twice-over!).

Original New Jersey Moms Blog post by MaryTara. MT blogs her adventures in parenting two beautiful children on the Jersey Shore, life with autism & without it, the gluten & casein free diet, and vaccination choice issues at The Bon Bon Gazette and raising a child with amblyopia at A