Snow day

[Anonymous]

We need to accept that even if this has not been a regular thing in the past, these kind of snow events are not going away and will probably be more frequent with increasing climate change. Look at what is happening in Los Angeles! The weather isn’t going back to the way it was decades ago, it’s time for some problem-solving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Conditions won't be any better tomorrow than they are today. Monday will be just as bad if not worse. I would love to know what will make FCPS officials feel comfortable opening schools.

The Weather Channel is calling for temps in the high 30s Saturday and Sunday, and sun.

That should be enough to melt icy spots and open school Monday. If not, Tuesday for sure because temps should be in the 40s on Monday.

[Anonymous]

I really wish they would just tell us now. Nothing is going to change in the next 6 /8 hours. Delay or close. People need to plan, make arrangements

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's mostly VDOT's fault, but it's also FCPS's faut. There should be contingency plans in place. Not every bus stop is going to be ice-free, and that cannot be the standard for sending a county full of children to school.

It's so sad how education is never at the top of the list of priorities.

OMG. Just stop. There are literally thousands of bus stops. We do not get a consistent snowfall each year. And you want people sitting around making contingency plans.

I can’t tell which you have more of: entitlement or stupidity.

I can promise you I am neither entitled nor stupid. But the superintendent seems to think that every bus stop needs to be cleared with a blow dryer in order to send kids to school. Consolidate bus stops. Have a designated consolidated bus stop for snow events. Have kids wait somewhere else. We got 6 inches of snow, these are not giant mounds. The kids will be fine. It’s so pathetic here.

Reid is not expecting perfection for each bus stop. You seem to think someone can just snap their fingers and plot out new bus stops for 100K kids AND communicate that quickly to both families and drivers (most of whom English is not their first language). That’s hilarious. That would be an absolute nightmare, and you’d be the first person complaining. Yeah, I’m going with entitled.

Also, it was more than 6 inches. The mounds of snow are from the places that actually got plowed.
Fairfax County snow totals

Newington: 10.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Burke 2 S: 9.6 inches (1013 PM 1/06, Public)

Lorton: 9.5 inches (1000 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Hybla Valley 1 ESE: 9.5 inches (947 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

West Springfield 2 W: 9.3 inches (1010 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Fairfax Station 1 SE: 9.2 inches (1145 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Centreville 3 SSE: 9.0 inches (900 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Rose Hill ENE: 9.0 inches (945 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Fairfax NE: 8.1 inches (1040 PM 1/06, Public)

Wolf Trap 2 WSW: 8.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, Public)

Fairfax 1 N: 8.0 inches (1045 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Fairfax 1 SW: 8.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, Emergency Manager)

Chantilly 2 ENE: 7.8 inches (930 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

The I395 and I495 1: 7.5 inches (951 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Chantilly 1 SE: 6.5 inches (848 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Centreville W: 6.3 inches (1000 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Herndon 1 NNE: 6.1 inches (900 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Herndon 2 ENE: 5.9 inches (150 AM 1/07, Trained Spotter)

Sterling Park 2 ENE: 5.1 inches (1030 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

https://www.fox5dc.com/ne...6-2025.amp

[Anonymous]

You’re saying if a child slips on ice, cancel the schools, and yet PP is the dumb one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in APS and a student came in with their face all bloody because they slipped on ICE.

That's a skill issue.

So what cancel school all winter?
If kids can be outside all say sledding they can survive going to school.

You don’t understand the difference? Really? Damn, some of you people REALLY aren’t very bright.

No, I don't. Kid have been outside running up and down the icy sidewalks to go sledding all week. Accidents happen. There is ice in winter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's mostly VDOT's fault, but it's also FCPS's faut. There should be contingency plans in place. Not every bus stop is going to be ice-free, and that cannot be the standard for sending a county full of children to school.

It's so sad how education is never at the top of the list of priorities.

OMG. Just stop. There are literally thousands of bus stops. We do not get a consistent snowfall each year. And you want people sitting around making contingency plans.

I can’t tell which you have more of: entitlement or stupidity.

I can promise you I am neither entitled nor stupid. But the superintendent seems to think that every bus stop needs to be cleared with a blow dryer in order to send kids to school. Consolidate bus stops. Have a designated consolidated bus stop for snow events. Have kids wait somewhere else. We got 6 inches of snow, these are not giant mounds. The kids will be fine. It’s so pathetic here.

Reid is not expecting perfection for each bus stop. You seem to think someone can just snap their fingers and plot out new bus stops for 100K kids AND communicate that quickly to both families and drivers (most of whom English is not their first language). That’s hilarious. That would be an absolute nightmare, and you’d be the first person complaining. Yeah, I’m going with entitled.

Also, it was more than 6 inches. The mounds of snow are from the places that actually got plowed.
Fairfax County snow totals

Newington: 10.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Burke 2 S: 9.6 inches (1013 PM 1/06, Public)

Lorton: 9.5 inches (1000 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Hybla Valley 1 ESE: 9.5 inches (947 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

West Springfield 2 W: 9.3 inches (1010 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Fairfax Station 1 SE: 9.2 inches (1145 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Centreville 3 SSE: 9.0 inches (900 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Rose Hill ENE: 9.0 inches (945 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Fairfax NE: 8.1 inches (1040 PM 1/06, Public)

Wolf Trap 2 WSW: 8.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, Public)

Fairfax 1 N: 8.0 inches (1045 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Fairfax 1 SW: 8.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, Emergency Manager)

Chantilly 2 ENE: 7.8 inches (930 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

The I395 and I495 1: 7.5 inches (951 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Chantilly 1 SE: 6.5 inches (848 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Centreville W: 6.3 inches (1000 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Herndon 1 NNE: 6.1 inches (900 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Herndon 2 ENE: 5.9 inches (150 AM 1/07, Trained Spotter)

Sterling Park 2 ENE: 5.1 inches (1030 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

https://www.fox5dc.com/ne...6-2025.amp

I am not saying that anyone should be snapping their fingers at all. I am saying the opposite. I am saying that smart people should be able to figure out contingency plans for events such as this. Find a way to open some of the schools. Maybe we don’t need to do it as the entire county. Maybe we can come up with contingency plans for bus stops. My point is that there should be thought about this kind of thing in advance so that we are not stuck in these situations when they inevitably happen. So again, the complete opposite of snapping a finger.

[Anonymous]

I think people are failing to differentiate between individuals making a judgment call for themselves and driving, and having busloads of kids being driven on those same roads, making frequent stops. The roads where I live will mostly be okay; it's flat, and although icy, is navigable with some care. I can see the exact same type of roads being problematic if they're icy.

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are all sunny and above freezing during the day, so we should see enough melting to make the roads not as treacherous. It would be nice if VDOT came through and salted/sanded the roads, but that might also require that people report their sub-par road conditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's mostly VDOT's fault, but it's also FCPS's faut. There should be contingency plans in place. Not every bus stop is going to be ice-free, and that cannot be the standard for sending a county full of children to school.

It's so sad how education is never at the top of the list of priorities.

OMG. Just stop. There are literally thousands of bus stops. We do not get a consistent snowfall each year. And you want people sitting around making contingency plans.

I can’t tell which you have more of: entitlement or stupidity.

I can promise you I am neither entitled nor stupid. But the superintendent seems to think that every bus stop needs to be cleared with a blow dryer in order to send kids to school. Consolidate bus stops. Have a designated consolidated bus stop for snow events. Have kids wait somewhere else. We got 6 inches of snow, these are not giant mounds. The kids will be fine. It’s so pathetic here.

Reid is not expecting perfection for each bus stop. You seem to think someone can just snap their fingers and plot out new bus stops for 100K kids AND communicate that quickly to both families and drivers (most of whom English is not their first language). That’s hilarious. That would be an absolute nightmare, and you’d be the first person complaining. Yeah, I’m going with entitled.

Also, it was more than 6 inches. The mounds of snow are from the places that actually got plowed.
Fairfax County snow totals

Newington: 10.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Burke 2 S: 9.6 inches (1013 PM 1/06, Public)

Lorton: 9.5 inches (1000 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Hybla Valley 1 ESE: 9.5 inches (947 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

West Springfield 2 W: 9.3 inches (1010 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Fairfax Station 1 SE: 9.2 inches (1145 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Centreville 3 SSE: 9.0 inches (900 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Rose Hill ENE: 9.0 inches (945 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Fairfax NE: 8.1 inches (1040 PM 1/06, Public)

Wolf Trap 2 WSW: 8.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, Public)

Fairfax 1 N: 8.0 inches (1045 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Fairfax 1 SW: 8.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, Emergency Manager)

Chantilly 2 ENE: 7.8 inches (930 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

The I395 and I495 1: 7.5 inches (951 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Chantilly 1 SE: 6.5 inches (848 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Centreville W: 6.3 inches (1000 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Herndon 1 NNE: 6.1 inches (900 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Herndon 2 ENE: 5.9 inches (150 AM 1/07, Trained Spotter)

Sterling Park 2 ENE: 5.1 inches (1030 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

https://www.fox5dc.com/ne...6-2025.amp

But how on earth will a bus see my child over those 10 inch mounds of snow!

How many kids got hit by busses on their way to schools in all of the open schools today?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's mostly VDOT's fault, but it's also FCPS's faut. There should be contingency plans in place. Not every bus stop is going to be ice-free, and that cannot be the standard for sending a county full of children to school.

It's so sad how education is never at the top of the list of priorities.

OMG. Just stop. There are literally thousands of bus stops. We do not get a consistent snowfall each year. And you want people sitting around making contingency plans.

I can’t tell which you have more of: entitlement or stupidity.

I can promise you I am neither entitled nor stupid. But the superintendent seems to think that every bus stop needs to be cleared with a blow dryer in order to send kids to school. Consolidate bus stops. Have a designated consolidated bus stop for snow events. Have kids wait somewhere else. We got 6 inches of snow, these are not giant mounds. The kids will be fine. It’s so pathetic here.

Reid is not expecting perfection for each bus stop. You seem to think someone can just snap their fingers and plot out new bus stops for 100K kids AND communicate that quickly to both families and drivers (most of whom English is not their first language). That’s hilarious. That would be an absolute nightmare, and you’d be the first person complaining. Yeah, I’m going with entitled.

Also, it was more than 6 inches. The mounds of snow are from the places that actually got plowed.
Fairfax County snow totals

Newington: 10.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Burke 2 S: 9.6 inches (1013 PM 1/06, Public)

Lorton: 9.5 inches (1000 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Hybla Valley 1 ESE: 9.5 inches (947 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

West Springfield 2 W: 9.3 inches (1010 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Fairfax Station 1 SE: 9.2 inches (1145 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Centreville 3 SSE: 9.0 inches (900 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Rose Hill ENE: 9.0 inches (945 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Fairfax NE: 8.1 inches (1040 PM 1/06, Public)

Wolf Trap 2 WSW: 8.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, Public)

Fairfax 1 N: 8.0 inches (1045 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Fairfax 1 SW: 8.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, Emergency Manager)

Chantilly 2 ENE: 7.8 inches (930 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

The I395 and I495 1: 7.5 inches (951 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Chantilly 1 SE: 6.5 inches (848 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Centreville W: 6.3 inches (1000 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Herndon 1 NNE: 6.1 inches (900 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Herndon 2 ENE: 5.9 inches (150 AM 1/07, Trained Spotter)

Sterling Park 2 ENE: 5.1 inches (1030 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

https://www.fox5dc.com/ne...6-2025.amp

First, that's barely more significant than six inches. Second, the mounds of snow are not going away. They're mounds for a reason. There can be no expectation that we're waiting for them to disappear because we'll be out at least another week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This proves you can't make everyone happy.

The kids are happy they won't have to risk their lives on a bus and icy roads.

Again, hug your children. Spend this time with them. You won't live forever. And for some of you, you will outlive your child.

This is a gift to you both.

I spend enough time with my kids thank you very much. We plan time! I need my kid who struggles with academics to learn so he will graduate and not live with me forever. If you want productive citizens get these kids to school!

I’m sorry not all streets are plowed. I don’t think that the kids should stay home because a few have piles of snow. Ugh! If you think it is unsafe and are worried keep them home. You want to punish all the kids for your kids safety. Let me be the judge.

Our neighborhood and school is fine.

It’s been four days. Please get a life.

And it isn’t about “your neighborhood and school.” It’s a large district. FFS.

+1

While DCUM is hardly broadly representative, I am quite surprised at the large number of parents so eager to get their kids out of the house that safety is a secondary concern. As has been said over and over, FCPS has 13 built-in snow days (elementary has 10 this year). We've used four in the name of safety. So, there will be four fewer joke days at the end of the school year where kids have "study hall" (a/k/a play on your FCPS-provided device) or watch a movie and throw spitballs. If you have child care issues, that is not FCPS's job to solve. Public schools exist to provide education -- not babysit your kids -- and there is enough fluff built in that these four days make no difference in achieving that aim. For once, Reid is actually putting the kids -- all the kids -- first. Get your priorities straight. You're just going to have to suffer through having your kids at home.

Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re missing the point. It’s not about not wanting kids at home. There’s too many figurative snowflakes who are worried about everything, including their own shadows, so “safety” becomes this all-encompassing excuse for everything. Do we need to go back to 2020? As predicted, the impacts of that disaster (the one we created, not the virus) are still being felt. Of course, we were told “safety”. There’s a lot of people now screaming “safety”, and we don’t love our kids because we want them not to miss weeks and weeks of school at a time, when we know there are learning loss impacts. We also know that those of us who are Gen X, the generation who grew up being sent to school in 50 inches of snow. We threw chains on the buses and made it happen. Today, we cancel for cold, wind, rain. So all this fear mongering doesn’t work. We lived it (keyword lived). We’re clearly heading in the wrong direction. I’m sorry you can’t see that and have to strike back with “you don’t love your children” or some version that implies that. Obviously we do, but want to prepare our kids to be more than our precious little snowflakes. Or we can take the other angle of those less affluent parents who have to work and can’t afford childcare. The ones people always say they want to help at election time because they’re the party that cares about the less fortunate, but in principle only care about if they don’t inconvenience what they want.

No, I'm not missing the point. I'm calling BS on any proffered motivation other than wanting your kids out of the house. Mommy's me time can and should wait when it comes at a meaningful risk to safety. The histrionics calling four days a catastrophe for these children's future is ridiculous. COVID was a full school year plus that is now being judged in hindsight. There is no comparison. The school district has 13 (yes, yes, I know the elementary schools have 10 -- horrors!) snow days to spend and has to choose whether to spend those days based on a facts and circumstances analysis of a very large county that is not regularly equipped for snow because we don't get this level of snow all that much. It's not a math equation based on how many inches fell. This is a cost/benefit analysis. The cost: (1) 4 days of "education" that would have been spent doing nothing at the end of the year, and (2) SCREAMING PARENTS WHO WANT THEIR EFFING FREE DAY CARE. The benefit: FCPS doesn't have it on their conscience if some kid slips in the street and gets run over by a skidding car, or some bus tips into a ditch. It is the SCREAMERS who are being unreasonable, not FCPS. If you think four snow days are going to turn your kid into a snowflake, send them out to shovel the neighborhood. If you think these four days will be the difference between Harvard and prison, hand the kid a book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are absolutely loving the snow days. As a parent who grew up in this area, this is nothing new under the sun. We have always had snow days. We have missed entire weeks due to significant snow and ice. And we all managed and the kids were fine. Their education was not impacted. The difference now is that we have a lot more households where two parents work so they feel inconvenienced. Too bad.

Education not impacted because: 1) the kids don't learn much in a given week anyway, and 2) the parents who care and have resources will continue/ramp up enrichment. If anything, those kids will probably learn more than usual this week while Larlo sits in front of the tablet all day.

Most privileged comment ever. I'm sure all the single parent households are ramping up enrichment today. Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's mostly VDOT's fault, but it's also FCPS's faut. There should be contingency plans in place. Not every bus stop is going to be ice-free, and that cannot be the standard for sending a county full of children to school.

It's so sad how education is never at the top of the list of priorities.

OMG. Just stop. There are literally thousands of bus stops. We do not get a consistent snowfall each year. And you want people sitting around making contingency plans.

I can’t tell which you have more of: entitlement or stupidity.

I can promise you I am neither entitled nor stupid. But the superintendent seems to think that every bus stop needs to be cleared with a blow dryer in order to send kids to school. Consolidate bus stops. Have a designated consolidated bus stop for snow events. Have kids wait somewhere else. We got 6 inches of snow, these are not giant mounds. The kids will be fine. It’s so pathetic here.

Reid is not expecting perfection for each bus stop. You seem to think someone can just snap their fingers and plot out new bus stops for 100K kids AND communicate that quickly to both families and drivers (most of whom English is not their first language). That’s hilarious. That would be an absolute nightmare, and you’d be the first person complaining. Yeah, I’m going with entitled.

Also, it was more than 6 inches. The mounds of snow are from the places that actually got plowed.
Fairfax County snow totals

Newington: 10.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Burke 2 S: 9.6 inches (1013 PM 1/06, Public)

Lorton: 9.5 inches (1000 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Hybla Valley 1 ESE: 9.5 inches (947 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

West Springfield 2 W: 9.3 inches (1010 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Fairfax Station 1 SE: 9.2 inches (1145 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Centreville 3 SSE: 9.0 inches (900 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Rose Hill ENE: 9.0 inches (945 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Fairfax NE: 8.1 inches (1040 PM 1/06, Public)

Wolf Trap 2 WSW: 8.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, Public)

Fairfax 1 N: 8.0 inches (1045 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Fairfax 1 SW: 8.0 inches (1100 PM 1/06, Emergency Manager)

Chantilly 2 ENE: 7.8 inches (930 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

The I395 and I495 1: 7.5 inches (951 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Chantilly 1 SE: 6.5 inches (848 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Centreville W: 6.3 inches (1000 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

Herndon 1 NNE: 6.1 inches (900 PM 1/06, NWS Employee)

Herndon 2 ENE: 5.9 inches (150 AM 1/07, Trained Spotter)

Sterling Park 2 ENE: 5.1 inches (1030 PM 1/06, Trained Spotter)

https://www.fox5dc.com/ne...6-2025.amp

I am not saying that anyone should be snapping their fingers at all. I am saying the opposite. I am saying that smart people should be able to figure out contingency plans for events such as this. Find a way to open some of the schools.[i] Maybe we don’t need to do it as the entire county. Maybe we can come up with contingency plans for bus stops. My point is that there should be thought about this kind of thing in advance so that we are not stuck in these situations when they inevitably happen. So again, the complete opposite of snapping a finger.

My understanding is that they have done studies to see if this is viable. But because of a significant number of kids being bussed to programs that are not available at their base schools (Academies, IB/AP, AAP, TJ), opening schools selectively turns out to not be a viable plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think people are failing to differentiate between individuals making a judgment call for themselves and driving, and having busloads of kids being driven on those same roads, making frequent stops. The roads where I live will mostly be okay; it's flat, and although icy, is navigable with some care. I can see the exact same type of roads being problematic if they're icy.

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are all sunny and above freezing during the day, so we should see enough melting to make the roads not as treacherous. It would be nice if VDOT came through and salted/sanded the roads, but that might also require that people report their sub-par road conditions.

Believe it or not, if schools open people can still make judgement calls. Yes there are exceptions but the bulk of people can weigh taking time off work to drive their walkers or walk to the bus stop against how dangerous that walk/drive is.

That's how schools opened more frequently 20 years ago. Because it was assumed that people would generally just make judgement calls after the schools made their own judgement call.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This proves you can't make everyone happy.

The kids are happy they won't have to risk their lives on a bus and icy roads.

Again, hug your children. Spend this time with them. You won't live forever. And for some of you, you will outlive your child.

This is a gift to you both.

I spend enough time with my kids thank you very much. We plan time! I need my kid who struggles with academics to learn so he will graduate and not live with me forever. If you want productive citizens get these kids to school!

I’m sorry not all streets are plowed. I don’t think that the kids should stay home because a few have piles of snow. Ugh! If you think it is unsafe and are worried keep them home. You want to punish all the kids for your kids safety. Let me be the judge.

Our neighborhood and school is fine.

It’s been four days. Please get a life.

And it isn’t about “your neighborhood and school.” It’s a large district. FFS.

+1

While DCUM is hardly broadly representative, I am quite surprised at the large number of parents so eager to get their kids out of the house that safety is a secondary concern. As has been said over and over, FCPS has 13 built-in snow days (elementary has 10 this year). We've used four in the name of safety. So, there will be four fewer joke days at the end of the school year where kids have "study hall" (a/k/a play on your FCPS-provided device) or watch a movie and throw spitballs. If you have child care issues, that is not FCPS's job to solve. Public schools exist to provide education -- not babysit your kids -- and there is enough fluff built in that these four days make no difference in achieving that aim. For once, Reid is actually putting the kids -- all the kids -- first. Get your priorities straight. You're just going to have to suffer through having your kids at home.

Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re missing the point. It’s not about not wanting kids at home. There’s too many figurative snowflakes who are worried about everything, including their own shadows, so “safety” becomes this all-encompassing excuse for everything. Do we need to go back to 2020? As predicted, the impacts of that disaster (the one we created, not the virus) are still being felt. Of course, we were told “safety”. There’s a lot of people now screaming “safety”, and we don’t love our kids because we want them not to miss weeks and weeks of school at a time, when we know there are learning loss impacts. We also know that those of us who are Gen X, the generation who grew up being sent to school in 50 inches of snow. We threw chains on the buses and made it happen. Today, we cancel for cold, wind, rain. So all this fear mongering doesn’t work. We lived it (keyword lived). We’re clearly heading in the wrong direction. I’m sorry you can’t see that and have to strike back with “you don’t love your children” or some version that implies that. Obviously we do, but want to prepare our kids to be more than our precious little snowflakes. Or we can take the other angle of those less affluent parents who have to work and can’t afford childcare. The ones people always say they want to help at election time because they’re the party that cares about the less fortunate, but in principle only care about if they don’t inconvenience what they want.

No, I'm not missing the point. I'm calling BS on any proffered motivation other than wanting your kids out of the house. Mommy's me time can and should wait when it comes at a meaningful risk to safety. The histrionics calling four days a catastrophe for these children's future is ridiculous. COVID was a full school year plus that is now being judged in hindsight. There is no comparison. The school district has 13 (yes, yes, I know the elementary schools have 10 -- horrors!) snow days to spend and has to choose whether to spend those days based on a facts and circumstances analysis of a very large county that is not regularly equipped for snow because we don't get this level of snow all that much. It's not a math equation based on how many inches fell. This is a cost/benefit analysis. The cost: (1) 4 days of "education" that would have been spent doing nothing at the end of the year, and (2) SCREAMING PARENTS WHO WANT THEIR EFFING FREE DAY CARE. The benefit: FCPS doesn't have it on their conscience if some kid slips in the street and gets run over by a skidding car, or some bus tips into a ditch. It is the SCREAMERS who are being unreasonable, not FCPS. If you think four snow days are going to turn your kid into a snowflake, send them out to shovel the neighborhood. If you think these four days will be the difference between Harvard and prison, hand the kid a book.

The free daycare point is so tired. You lose all credibility when make that point.