Rita Brings 'Snow Days' To Georgia

Gov. Calls On Schools To Close To Save Fuel

(CBS)  Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue asked the state's schools to take two "early snow days" and cancel classes Monday and Tuesday to help conserve fuel as the nation's fuel supply lines try to recover from Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

Perdue estimated that about 225,000 gallons of diesel fuel would be saved each day by keeping buses off the road. He pointed out that an undetermined amount of regular gasoline would also be saved by allowing teachers, other school staffers and some parents to stay home.

Electricity would also be conserved by keeping the schools closed.

All but three school systems complied with the Perdue's request, and that didn't sit well with parents who suddenly had to scramble to find babysitters and daycare for their children.

Perdue told The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler his move was "precautionary."

"I think, with information that we received Friday of last week about supply disruptions, I think it's the appropriate action to take," he said. "We can get ahead of the curve, and it's the right thing do.

"With Rita facing us last week, although the damage is less, all the refineries are still shut down. All of our pipelines are down, and we don't know what our fuel supply situation is. We still have not recovered from the effects of (Hurricane) Katrina. We were not 100 percent back on our fuel supply from even Katrina."

Perdue denied pressuring any districts to close.

He also addressed the complaints of parents who had to stay home from work to care for their kids or find someone else to.

"If I were a parent," he said, "I would have been inconvenienced. And sacrifice is about inconvenience; getting through temporary disruptions is about inconvenience. And my goal was to make temporary inconvenience and not a crisis later on. So, I understand parents' feelings, and I'm sorry that they're inconvenienced.

"I still think it's the right thing do and, irrespective of the lesser damage, our fuel supplies are down, our refineries are down, and we hope to get through this fuel disruption fine."

One definite bright spot? "No doubt, I've got the kids' vote," Perdue joked.