Friday's "snow?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taylor is being petty bc so many people complained about Tuesday’s delay. This is his way of giving them the finger.

Eh I think it was a genuinely tough call as a delay would still have been unsafe. So it was either open on time or not at all.

That being said it is certainly possible he is trying to "show" everyone what happens when you open schools on time on a cold day with a little snow. I wouldn't put it past him to be this petty.

So what happens? Some buses will be late or get stuck, some cars will slip, because folks here are terrible drivers on a normal day and worse in the snow. And thousands of kids are in school and learning today. I personally think that's the right balance. You can't cancel school every time conditions aren't perfect. People have to be careful in these conditions but life doesn't have to stop. School should be canceled when roads are not passable, not when they require a little extra caution.

Hmm. I almost agree with you. If the worst that comes of today was some late buses and some kids with a story to tell about the time their bus got stuck, that’s really not so bad. I was a bit apprehensive driving my kid today but we were fine, and I have yet to hear about any serious accidents. But doesn’t MCPS have to fear legal liability if the other counties delay, they don’t, and then there’s some bus accidents and some banged up kids? Didn’t happen today (I hope), but it’s hardly unforeseeable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taylor is being petty bc so many people complained about Tuesday’s delay. This is his way of giving them the finger.

Eh I think it was a genuinely tough call as a delay would still have been unsafe. So it was either open on time or not at all.

That being said it is certainly possible he is trying to "show" everyone what happens when you open schools on time on a cold day with a little snow. I wouldn't put it past him to be this petty.

So what happens? Some buses will be late or get stuck, some cars will slip, because folks here are terrible drivers on a normal day and worse in the snow. And thousands of kids are in school and learning today. I personally think that's the right balance. You can't cancel school every time conditions aren't perfect. People have to be careful in these conditions but life doesn't have to stop. School should be canceled when roads are not passable, not when they require a little extra caution.

Hmm. I almost agree with you. If the worst that comes of today was some late buses and some kids with a story to tell about the time their bus got stuck, that’s really not so bad. I was a bit apprehensive driving my kid today but we were fine, and I have yet to hear about any serious accidents. But doesn’t MCPS have to fear legal liability if the other counties delay, they don’t, and then there’s some bus accidents and some banged up kids? Didn’t happen today (I hope), but it’s hardly unforeseeable.

If this is the standard, then they really need to build in more days into the calendar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taylor is *new* around here. He should have followed PG county example or at the very least Howard county.

Opening on time was stupid.

Full day and Friday rush hour traffic when it gets dark at 4:45 is worrying.

A lot of bus drivers are older people, I'm concerned their reaction times and eyesight isn't the best.

Do you think a 2 hour delay would have been better? Lot more snow now.

Lots more time to put down sand and ice. Our staff was doing it as kids were arriving. It was a mess.

Why did you wait so long to do that? You had all day yesterday

Because everyone slathers sand all over their sidewalks and driveways in early December in the DMV because there *might* be snow the next day. There was supposed to be snow Tuesday too...see how that worked out...Monday morning quarterbacking on snow in this area is a waste of breath so stop being an unnecessary jerk.

Signed,
Lifelong DMV'r - grew up in VA, raised kiddo in DC & MD school systems

So then plan to wake up early and do it before the students get there. This is not a reason to close schools for the entire day

Fairly certain school admin/maintenance folks were there bright and early doing just that. My kid drove to school 45 minutes earlier than normal to navigate unknown road conditions. I assume the admin / maintenance folks were doing the same. I doubt they showed up and made a cup of coffee before deciding oh hey, sanding time! My point is - be grateful for what they are doing to keep the schools open today and don't be a jerk about it.

PS - I never said schools should be closed today - I was saying they were doing their best to keep them accessible and open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taylor is being petty bc so many people complained about Tuesday’s delay. This is his way of giving them the finger.

Eh I think it was a genuinely tough call as a delay would still have been unsafe. So it was either open on time or not at all.

That being said it is certainly possible he is trying to "show" everyone what happens when you open schools on time on a cold day with a little snow. I wouldn't put it past him to be this petty.

So what happens? Some buses will be late or get stuck, some cars will slip, because folks here are terrible drivers on a normal day and worse in the snow. And thousands of kids are in school and learning today. I personally think that's the right balance. You can't cancel school every time conditions aren't perfect. People have to be careful in these conditions but life doesn't have to stop. School should be canceled when roads are not passable, not when they require a little extra caution.

Agree. Unclear if delay really would have helped given the snow started late, and closure would be an overkill. Opening on time was also disruptive. Of the three imperfect choices, I think this one was the best.

Delays are put in place to allow clearing and to make calls when bad weather continues.
None of this makes any sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taylor is *new* around here. He should have followed PG county example or at the very least Howard county.

Opening on time was stupid.

Full day and Friday rush hour traffic when it gets dark at 4:45 is worrying.

A lot of bus drivers are older people, I'm concerned their reaction times and eyesight isn't the best.

Do you think a 2 hour delay would have been better? Lot more snow now.

Lots more time to put down sand and ice. Our staff was doing it as kids were arriving. It was a mess.

Why did you wait so long to do that? You had all day yesterday

Because everyone slathers sand all over their sidewalks and driveways in early December in the DMV because there *might* be snow the next day. There was supposed to be snow Tuesday too...see how that worked out...Monday morning quarterbacking on snow in this area is a waste of breath so stop being an unnecessary jerk.

Signed,
Lifelong DMV'r - grew up in VA, raised kiddo in DC & MD school systems

So then plan to wake up early and do it before the students get there. This is not a reason to close schools for the entire day

Fairly certain school admin/maintenance folks were there bright and early doing just that. My kid drove to school 45 minutes earlier than normal to navigate unknown road conditions. I assume the admin / maintenance folks were doing the same. I doubt they showed up and made a cup of coffee before deciding oh hey, sanding time! My point is - be grateful for what they are doing to keep the schools open today and don't be a jerk about it.

PS - I never said schools should be closed today - I was saying they were doing their best to keep them accessible and open.

A two hour delay to put sand around the school is ... no. That is something that can absolutely be planned for. Doesn't have to be the day before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone tell us the total number of bus accidents that occurred this morning?

How many were there that broke down?

This number won’t include the number of buses that couldn’t get through to certain roads. Absolutely ridiculous that mcps opened on time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taylor is being petty bc so many people complained about Tuesday’s delay. This is his way of giving them the finger.

Eh I think it was a genuinely tough call as a delay would still have been unsafe. So it was either open on time or not at all.

That being said it is certainly possible he is trying to "show" everyone what happens when you open schools on time on a cold day with a little snow. I wouldn't put it past him to be this petty.

So what happens? Some buses will be late or get stuck, some cars will slip, because folks here are terrible drivers on a normal day and worse in the snow. And thousands of kids are in school and learning today. I personally think that's the right balance. You can't cancel school every time conditions aren't perfect. People have to be careful in these conditions but life doesn't have to stop. School should be canceled when roads are not passable, not when they require a little extra caution.

Agree. Unclear if delay really would have helped given the snow started late, and closure would be an overkill. Opening on time was also disruptive. Of the three imperfect choices, I think this one was the best.

Delays are put in place to allow clearing and to make calls when bad weather continues.
None of this makes any sense.

There isn't enough snow to plow. This was an event that would have benefited from pre-treating roads and sidewalks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taylor is *new* around here. He should have followed PG county example or at the very least Howard county.

Opening on time was stupid.

Full day and Friday rush hour traffic when it gets dark at 4:45 is worrying.

A lot of bus drivers are older people, I'm concerned their reaction times and eyesight isn't the best.

Do you think a 2 hour delay would have been better? Lot more snow now.

Lots more time to put down sand and ice. Our staff was doing it as kids were arriving. It was a mess.

Why did you wait so long to do that? You had all day yesterday

Because everyone slathers sand all over their sidewalks and driveways in early December in the DMV because there *might* be snow the next day. There was supposed to be snow Tuesday too...see how that worked out...Monday morning quarterbacking on snow in this area is a waste of breath so stop being an unnecessary jerk.

Signed,
Lifelong DMV'r - grew up in VA, raised kiddo in DC & MD school systems

Well we expect decisions based on higher rational thinking than "I grew up here."
It was clear to all that the weather on Tuesday would be above freezing and the weather today would be well belowm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone tell us the total number of bus accidents that occurred this morning?

How many were there that broke down?

This number won’t include the number of buses that couldn’t get through to certain roads. Absolutely ridiculous that mcps opened on time.

Delay would not have helped that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone tell us the total number of bus accidents that occurred this morning?

How many were there that broke down?

This number won’t include the number of buses that couldn’t get through to certain roads. Absolutely ridiculous that mcps opened on time.

Delay would not have helped that

Really? I saw a sand truck ahead of me on my way tonschool. I would think it would have helped alot. Closing school would have been better delay at least. Early dismissal at least.
This district is a mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone tell us the total number of bus accidents that occurred this morning?

How many were there that broke down?

This number won’t include the number of buses that couldn’t get through to certain roads. Absolutely ridiculous that mcps opened on time.

Delay would not have helped that

Really? I saw a sand truck ahead of me on my way tonschool. I would think it would have helped alot. Closing school would have been better delay at least. Early dismissal at least.
This district is a mess.

I saw zero sand trucks this morning so would not have helped us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I certainly hope they are calling for an early release. It's still snowing and Friday rush hour traffic, plus school busses is a recipe for disaster.

They would've called it already.

[Anonymous]

This thread perfectly illustrates how self-centered so many people are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People have legitimate complains for both days:

1. MCPS should have kept childcare open on Tuesday.

2. MCPS should either have delayed opening today, or organized better brining around the schools for this morning's on time opening. The cars slipping around my kids' high school was quite something this morning, in the dark. A delay this morning would have meant more snow to contend with, but also more time for trucks to salt, and at the very least, it means maneuvering in daylight! Which for high schoolers driving themselves to school is NOT NEGLIGIBLE.

Yup. Bad calls on both days for different reasons.

[Anonymous]

Place bets on whether we get another apology email. I’m trying to imagine what it would say…