The white house said that they were 45 minutes late, not 15. Of course, there is the issue of the honesty level at the white house, but it really is the responsibility of the school staff to get them there on time. You budget for traffic
The parents had to pay $20 per kid for the bus, and the kindergartners had to be cleared through security procedures. The school staff really should have been more responsible.
I could see giving the kids the cold shoulder if the ruritanian ambassador was waiting with a declaration of war, but a football team could have been made to accommodate the school kids. If they had been given the option, they probably would have. Dosnt' do the steelers any good either.