WASHINGTON — No matter how many times students wore their pajamas inside out hoping for a snow day this year — it just was not happening.
D.C.-area schools had very few snow days this winter, with some school systems not using any snow days.
The surplus has some residents pushing to cash in on those snow days. In one major school system, people have started a petition drive calling for a shorter school year.
Loudoun County is the third-largest school system in Virginia. It has 15 days set aside for bad weather, but has not used a single snow day this year.
A petition drive is taking place to get the school district to use some of the snow days to shorten the school year. As of Wednesday, the online petition has more than 1,400 signatures.
However, changes to the school calendar are unlikely to happen, according to Loudoun County Public Schools spokesman Wayde Byard. The calendar is fixed and the last day of school for students in the county will still be June 9, he said.
In the past, when the school system talked about adjusting the school calendar because of extra snow days, a lot of resistance from parents who complained of having to find child care on short notice or having to take off from work, Byard told Loudoun Now.
He also said dates for graduation and exams were set, and any changes would cause scheduling problems.
Meanwhile, there is a second online petition, started by a Loudoun County Public School student, who wants the school system to use some of the unused snow days to add an extra week to spring break. The petition had more than 7,000 signatures as of March 8.
