After two days of closure due to Monday’s winter storm, officials with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) are continuing to assess when schools can reopen, an MCPS official told Bethesda Today on Tuesday.
The storm delivered more than 5 inches of snow to the area with Potomac receiving 8.3 inches, Rockville receiving 7.2 inches and Gaithersburg receiving 6.6 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
MCPS spokesperson Liliana Lopez told Bethesda Today on Tuesday morning the district will hold several meetings throughout the day to discuss the status of snow removal efforts.
While MCPS intends to inform families about potential closures as soon as possible, Lopez said low temperatures and the large amount of precipitation from the storm, including ice, have made clean-up efforts difficult.
According to the MCPS website, the district decides whether to close schools during bad weather by utilizing information from the National Weather Service, Accu-Weather and the news media as well as inspecting roads, school driveways and sidewalks throughout the county. According to the website, an evening decision to close schools will occur by 7 p.m., but a morning decision can also be made by 5 a.m.
The decision to close schools is always made for the entire school district, according to the website, because many students are transported beyond their home school attendance area.
According to Lopez, operations staff are currently inspecting areas such as MCPS bus depots throughout the county to determine the safety of roads and sidewalks.
Closing school on Monday and Tuesday means that MCPS has utilized both snow days set aside in the 2024-2025 school year calendar. If schools are closed three or more days, possible make-up days include Jan. 29, March 31, June 6, June 16-18, and June 20 and 23. The last day of school for students is scheduled for June 13.
During the 2023-2024 school year, an extra snow day required a day of virtual school and included students completing packets of schoolwork. The asynchronous learning day received mixed reviews, with parents arguing that it was a “pretend school day” while others embraced the opportunity to help their students with classwork.
