Congratulations to most of our local school districts which didn’t fall for the late-start gimmick today because of last night’s Super Bowl.

That said, thousands of students in the Philadelphia School District, along with thousands more in a number of suburban Philly/Camden districts in both Pennsylvania and South Jersey started classes two hours later than normal.

Among them and closer to home were the Saucon Valley District in Northampton County and the Quakertown Community School District in Bucks County.

In announcing the two-hour delay, Saucon Valley Superintendent Jaime Vlasaty said that the scheduling would “allow for a more productive day for students, staff and their families.”

Sorry, but I don’t buy it. We’ve been reminded time and time again of how the education of our children has suffered mightily because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruptions associated with it, so blowing off two hours of instruction time seems to fly in the face of this concern.

You might be saying to yourself, “It’s only two hours.”

Yes, but two hours here, two hours there, it adds up. It also is sending the wrong message about our priorities. Dr. Joseph J. Roy, superintendent of the Bethlehem Area School District, came right to the point: The Super Bowl is not a good enough reason for a two-hour delay.

I found that the average time of a Super Bowl game, including the glitzy halftime performance by famous entertainers such as Rihanna, is about four hours. With a 6:30 p.m. start, it means that the Super Bowl should end sometime around 10:30 p.m. In fact, last night it ended 15 minutes earlier.

Even taking into consideration the time it takes to get ready for bed, I can’t imagine that students couldn’t have been ready no later than about 11 p.m., a time I am sure many of them are still awake on a non-Super Bowl night. Even if they typically go to bed earlier than 11, one night when they don’t won’t kill them, and they and their parents don’t need to get all whiny about it, either.

Reaction among Saucon Valley district residents (Hellertown borough and Lower Saucon Township) was mixed, as you might imagine. Some thought it is a great idea, while many parents who had to make arrangements for child care were less than thrilled that they had less than a week to make arrangements for the change.

Apparently I am the odd man out in this argument. According to Business News Daily, about 16 million Americans were expected to skip work today, while another 8 million had requested the day off in advance. Some businesses even refer to the day as “Super Sick Monday.” The publication noted that in 2020, an estimated 17.5 million employees didn’t show up for work the day after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 31-20.

I could find no statistics on how many students, including those in college, cut classes on the Monday after a Super Bowl, but you can be sure that it’s a lot.

As hard as it is to believe, there is a push to make the Monday after each Super Bowl a national or state holiday. Hey, I enjoy the Super Bowl just as much as the next person, but it’s only a game. To be honest, aside from last night’s 38-35 nail-biting win by Kansas City Chiefs over the Philadelphia Eagles and last year’s 23-20 victory by the Los Angeles Rams over the Cincinnati Bengals, most of these games have been anything but super.

Ideas to ponder: Move the Super Bowl to earlier in the day, maybe 3:30 p.m. or even to early Saturday night,

Of course, when it comes right down to it, the Super Bowl means super money - lots of money. A 30-second commercial during last night’s game cost an average of $7 million. Many of the 64,000 in attendance last night laid out close to $10,000 for tickets, accommodations, meals, transportation, etc. Then factor in those millions spent by fans and spectators at homes, bars and restaurants. Some estimates put the amount at half a billion dollars.

The two hours that these school districts lose today will not be made up. The state requires that students have a minimum of 180 days of instruction each academic year. When there is a two-hour delay for weather issues, an unexpected emergency or, in this case, a Super Bowl game, the state says districts don’t need to make up the lost time. In addition, the district is paying instructors, administrative and support staff the same amount as if they were there for a full day.

The bottom line is that instead of fostering priorities that make sense, what we are saying without coming right out and saying it is that a pro football game is more important than two hours of education.

I just don’t get it.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com