The last-minute decision to close Montgomery County public schools, which left some families scrambling for backup child care, was made as inspections in northern Montgomery County found icy conditions, a spokesman said.
“We were looking at roads up until about 6:45 a.m. and were pretty confident we would be able to function on a two-hour delay, but everyone involved in the decision started talking for the final check and realized the [weather] system coming in would eliminate any progress we make in clearing some of these areas,” spokesperson Derek Turner said.
The 163,000-student school system announced Tuesday night that schools would open two hours late Wednesday after a snowstorm grazed the region Tuesday afternoon. The announcement said conditions would be re-evaluated Wednesday and any changes announced by 7 a.m.
At 6:58 a.m. Wednesday, the school system sent alerts that schools would be shut. Some of the alerts did not arrive until after 7 a.m.
Tuesday’s snow, combined with falling temperatures overnight, caused roads, sidewalks and parking lots to refreeze.
The closing means the school system has run out of inclement-weather days and the school year will have to be extended by a day, to June 14. Other days identified to offset further snow days are April 17, April 18 and June 5.
Turner said the decision to close was made when a final check of roads and sidewalks found icy spots upcounty, which includes Poolesville, Damascus, part of Gaithersburg and Clarksburg. That, compounded by a weather system set to hit the area Wednesday afternoon and drop up to an inch of snow accompanied by wind gusts up to 50 mph, forced Montgomery County schools to change its plan.
Turner added several neighboring districts, such Carroll and Howard counties which previously had two-hour delays, announced closures at about the same time.
The school system uses a number of factors to determine when to close or delay schools for weather, including information from the National Weather Service forecast and inspections of roads, school driveways and sidewalks throughout the county, according to the school website.
For years, there have been calls for schools to close by area to avoid using snow days when parts of the county have clear weather and roads and others don’t. The school system said it would be too difficult to manage because many students travel outside of their home area to attend classes.
“To close by cluster or zone would mean students living in a less affected area might be unable to attend their school and vice-versa,” the school website says. “This creates unequal access to the instructional programs and making sure each student receives the required days of instruction becomes difficult.”
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
