Some young Pittsburgh Steeler fans in Butler County probably went to school a little tired on Monday morning. Not so in Pittsburgh, where the city’s public school district announced last week that the start of school the day after the Super Bowl would be delayed two hours over concerns for “the safety of our students.”

When the announcement was released, most people knew it was not about safety. The delayed start was more likely to accommodate adults — teachers, administrators, staffers and bus drivers who might have been up late partying.

Later reports said that school officials were hoping the delayed start would help reduce absenteeism. And in a city school district where the truancy rate exceeds 25 percent at 23 different schools, there is an ongoing problem with students not showing up. But is telling students it’s OK to show up two hours late the best way to reduce absenteeism?

But the arbitrary elimination of two hours of education in an already struggling district sends a disturbing message. It suggests that education is not a top priority. It says the convenience of teachers, administrators and bus drivers is more important than the education of students.

A few other Pittsburgh-area school districts also opted for a two-hour delay. And Pittsburgh’s delay apparently forced dozens of private or parochial schools to start late, due to transportation services provided to their students through the public school system.

In contrast to the Pittsburgh school district’s accommodating late-night partying, U.S. Steel Corp. sent out a memo late last week warning workers at its Clairton, Irvin and Edgar Thomson mills not to miss work on Sunday or Monday without just cause.

Having employees call off for no legitimate health or personal reason is a problem for private companies as well as government facilities such as prisons, where overtime is paid to other workers required to fill in.

Although a two-hour delay for the start of school is, in the bigger picture of the troubles facing public education, a small problem, it does send the wrong message. Even after watching the entire game Sunday evening, students could have been in bed before 11 p.m.

And with another month or more of winter weather expected, two-hour delays caused by snow or icy conditions already have caused problems for schools in Western Pennsylvania. As with the two-hour delay following the Super Bowl, it’s reasonable to ask why school officials don’t develop a policy that extends the school day by two hours whenever there is a delayed start.

As it stands now, schools receive credit for a full day of education and receive the associated funding with a two-hour delay. If an actual full day were required to satisfy the 180-day rule or for financial compensation, school districts would find a way to extend the day as necessary — or add a day or two during the year to compensate for delayed starts.

The Pittsburgh Public School District did not help its image by calling for a delay on the Monday following the Super Bowl. The district made matters worse by claiming the delayed start was for safety reasons.

Now that it’s over, school officials should work on policy changes focused on the education of students, not the convenience of adults.