With this winter season bringing a couple of storms, D.C.-area school systems have been faced with the quintessential snow day dilemma: whether or not to open on time, open on a delay or not open at all.
It’s not easy, and a lot of things are taken into consideration when making the decision.
“We take it very seriously when we talk about disrupting people’s schedules,” said Charoscar Coleman, the chief operating officer with Prince George’s County Public Schools.
Sometimes, with hindsight, a different decision might have been the better one. But at the end of the day, there’s no chance that everyone will be happy.
Coleman helps make decisions for one of the larger counties in the region, which has nearly 40 miles separating the most northern and southern schools in the county.
“That’s why it’s really important that we’re not just looking at one portion of the county when we’re considering a decision,” Coleman said.
Whatever the decision is, it gets applied to the roughly 500 square miles of the county, which is large enough that some parts might see rain and others will have to deal with ice from the same storm. The timing of the storm also impacts how a decision gets made.
“If it’s unsafe for our northern tier, then we have to make that determination for our entire county,” he said. “Our more rural areas out in the Baden, Accokeek, Brandywine area, if it’s unsafe there, then we have to make that same determination.”
The county runs over 1,100 bus routes and over 85,000 students ride those buses. Since some of them get taken outside the county to as far away as Frederick County or Baltimore City, school leaders consult with not just its public works crews but also other neighboring school systems to get their perspective. It also has to consider pedestrian access.
“We have six transportation supervisors that are responsible for two bus lots each,” said Coleman. “Each of those bus lots are deployed across the county, and so those six staff members are designated to go out and check roadway conditions on the ground in each of those areas.”
Building services staff will also weigh in on what conditions are like on and around school properties.
And it’s not just the disruptions parents deal with if there’s a delayed opening or closing weighing on school leaders as they decide.
“Some of our students rely on our schools for feeding and to get adequate meals, and so we have to consider those implications,” said Coleman.
Regardless of the decision that gets made, parents are going to complain.
Sometimes it’s because they believe the schools were too quick to close when the roads were fine for travel. Sometimes parents think the schools are rushing their kids back.
“We try to prioritize safety for our all of our students, staff and members of the community whenever we’re dealing with a weather related decision,” Coleman said. “We know it isn’t easy, but we certainly have to make certain that we’re putting safety first.”
As for all the complaining the school system hears?
“I mean, this is part of the job,” he admitted.
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