MCPS gave County list of snow issues on Sunday at 2:13 pm. Under 2 hours later MCPS blamed County for Monday closure

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The responsibility for plowing school bus stops is generally divided between the county (for the roads) and adjacent property owners or the school system (on-property areas), and varies by specific location.

• County/State Highway Departments: These agencies are typically responsible for clearing public roads. Many counties prioritize snow removal on primary roads and designated school bus routes to ensure buses can travel safely.

• Property Owners: The clearing of sidewalks, including those leading to and from bus stops, is often the legal responsibility of the adjacent homeowner or business owner. Residents are frequently required to clear sidewalks within a certain number of hours after a storm ends.

• School Systems: School districts are usually responsible for snow removal on school property, including parking lots, bus loops, and sidewalks within school grounds.

Who clears the sidewalks that are by the main roads not near anyone's property? That has to be the county and the county did not do that.

Join fellow taxpayers in submitting service requests to dig out of the freezing rain. Wait 5 to 60 days for a sidewalk not in anyone's property to be shoveled.

[Anonymous]

Even their message today makes clear they didn't want to open because they claim an indeterminate number of kids could not go to school due to bus problems on "impassable" roads. Sounds like poor problem solving skills to me.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I guess this is devil's advocate, but why is it MCPS's job to tell the county where to clear the roads properly? The job being done properly should be the default and the fact that it had been a week since the storm and the county hadn't already figured that out in response to all the complaints and 311 calls they were getting, or by simply driving around and seeing what a mess things are, is ridiculous and not on MCPS.

MCPS probably kept waiting for the county to do the job taxpayers pay for of its own initiative, because that's how government services are supposed to work. Not only bothering to get around to it because the school system nagged them. "How could we be expected to know we did a bad job until MCPS told us at 2:13 on a Sunday?" What an absurd excuse. Why don't you supervise your own clearing efforts and monitor progress through some kind of organized system like an actual competent department?

The plowing job on surface streets has been completely subpar and an embarrassment.

[phone]

County is not responsible for school bus stops

The bus stops aren't the only problem. Some roads are not passable for buses due to the way they've been plowed and maneuverability issues. The buses couldn't even get to the stop. That is the fault of county plowing. And if a bus can't get down there, a fire truck probably couldn't either. Again, not on MCPS.

I completely agree that the county could have done better. However, the County prioritizes snow emergency routes for emergency vehicles. MCPS should coordinate with the County regarding its school bus routes. MCPS sending the County a list of issues on Sunday afternoon and not 2 hours later bashing the County publicly is incredibly disingenuous. They didn't care about opening, they cared about blaming someone in order to stay closed. If they really wanted to open they would have been communicating with the county much earlier.

Exactly. There's a need to prioritize snow removal resources. Things aren't going to be perfect. The objective is to clear roads enough for emergency services as broadly as possible and as quickly as possible. That can mean only clearing one lane on a multi-lane roadway. That is generally going to be good enough for most purposes, albeit road capacity may be lower, and people may need to drive more slowly. Improving capacity and convenience from there is going to take more time. And often will be resource-intensive, we're seeing places where they need to use loaders and trucks to move the snow (rather than just pushing it out of the way).

We shouldn't need to wait until everything is perfectly clear to reopen schools. If MCPS has specific requirements (e.g., for buses) that extend beyond what would otherwise be part of that minimum tier of plowing, then they're obligated to communicate them to the county and coordinate with them to open schools.

MCPS failed here.

No way. MCPS is in charge of schooling. DOT etc are in charge of clearing roads. They failed. As did 70% of homeowners and businesses around me..

Here, let me help:

Attention:MCDOT, MDOT, HOAs, Joe-Six-Pack

You need to clear roads and sidewalks so that they are suitable for use by busses and children who walk to school. I know you already knew this and just botched it but some clowns on a DB think its MCPS job, so you are hereby notified.

County buses ran on Monday. Most places opened on Tuesday. Nearly everything else operated on Wednesday. If the roads legitimate could not accommodate MCPS's unique needs, then MCPS has the obligation of communicating their needs. They obviously didn't do that.

MCPS needs to work with the county to adjust bus routes where necessary to roads that can be adequately make passable in a timely manner for buses. The county itself doesn't set school bus routes.

What? Communicating? No!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even their message today makes clear they didn't want to open because they claim an indeterminate number of kids could not go to school due to bus problems on "impassable" roads. Sounds like poor problem solving skills to me.

Have you seen the McPS attendance data? They have lot of kids absent even when it’s bright and sunny. Blaming the school buses and sidewalks without data sounds like McPS is trying to build a case justifying why it stayed closed longer than other school districts.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I heard about that. I think MCPS was asleep at the wheel all of last week, not realizing that this snowstorm was different from all the other storms we've had, and that snowplows had great difficulty clearing the ice... and so MCPS panicked over the weekend when they realized parents would be furious if Monday wasn't open, and threw everyone under the bus. I noticed they blamed homeowners as well.

They were asleep because they didn't have to go to work at all. Code Red means everything is closed, and it was Code Red Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. GMAFB

Seriously? Don’t public entities have a core of personnel that have to work to keep emergency operations going.

Contrast that with DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.

I guess no one is holding MCPS accountable to a high standard. Or even a mediocre standard

Seriously please stop quoting this “DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.” Clearly you have a hard on about those districts. MCPS has had food distributions sites open since last Wednesday.

And while I certainly think MCPS shoukd have communicated challenges more quickly, it's disingenuous for the county to act as if they don't understand what things are needed from them to ensure school can operate fully. They know sidewalks, bus stops, and space for buses to pass are needed. So really this is on everyone.

It’s accurate so no, there’s no reason to stop saying it. DC and Alexandria had virtual learning last Wednesday and food distribution while MCPS was closed. DC opened physically Thursday while Alexandria continued virtual learning til Monday.

I didn’t see communications about food distribution from MCPS. If they had it last Wednesday, great. But that doesn’t change the fact that two school districts that serve kids poorer than in MCPS got their act together days earlier.

Emergency food distribution message sent out. Not sure if all schools sent them out and to whom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even their message today makes clear they didn't want to open because they claim an indeterminate number of kids could not go to school due to bus problems on "impassable" roads. Sounds like poor problem solving skills to me.

Have you seen the McPS attendance data? They have lot of kids absent even when it’s bright and sunny. Blaming the school buses and sidewalks without data sounds like McPS is trying to build a case justifying why it stayed closed longer than other school districts.

Yes. It sounds really childish to me. What they are saying is "SEE??? You MADE us open and LOOK what happened!! And is ALL YOUR FAULT!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard about that. I think MCPS was asleep at the wheel all of last week, not realizing that this snowstorm was different from all the other storms we've had, and that snowplows had great difficulty clearing the ice... and so MCPS panicked over the weekend when they realized parents would be furious if Monday wasn't open, and threw everyone under the bus. I noticed they blamed homeowners as well.

They were asleep because they didn't have to go to work at all. Code Red means everything is closed, and it was Code Red Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. GMAFB

Seriously? Don’t public entities have a core of personnel that have to work to keep emergency operations going.

Contrast that with DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.

I guess no one is holding MCPS accountable to a high standard. Or even a mediocre standard

Seriously please stop quoting this “DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.” Clearly you have a hard on about those districts. MCPS has had food distributions sites open since last Wednesday.

And while I certainly think MCPS shoukd have communicated challenges more quickly, it's disingenuous for the county to act as if they don't understand what things are needed from them to ensure school can operate fully. They know sidewalks, bus stops, and space for buses to pass are needed. So really this is on everyone.

It’s accurate so no, there’s no reason to stop saying it. DC and Alexandria had virtual learning last Wednesday and food distribution while MCPS was closed. DC opened physically Thursday while Alexandria continued virtual learning til Monday.

I didn’t see communications about food distribution from MCPS. If they had it last Wednesday, great. But that doesn’t change the fact that two school districts that serve kids poorer than in MCPS got their act together days earlier.

Why don't you move to Alexandria. Bye.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Does the county have a map of MCPS bus routes and bus stops?

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/transportation/busroutes/

+1000 The school bus routes and stops are not some securely guarded secret.

Do you seriously think this information is in a format that makes it efficient to identify streets/intersections with school bus service? It would take hours just to compile all of these individual PDF documents.

You don't have kids at all the schools do you? So it's not your damn job to know how to compile all the lists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the county have a map of MCPS bus routes and bus stops?

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/transportation/busroutes/

+1000 The school bus routes and stops are not some securely guarded secret.

Do you seriously think this information is in a format that makes it efficient to identify streets/intersections with school bus service? It would take hours just to compile all of these individual PDF documents.

I’m sure AI or some kid at Blair SMCS could do it even faster. It’s ridiculous to say that these are unknown.

Nobody said it was unknown. I asked if the county has a map of them. As far as I can tell no comprehensive map of MCPS bus routes is publicly available. And as a PP said, even if AI could compile the information accurately (really??? Lol) it doesn't actually tell you the routes the buses take, just where they stop.

No, it is not reasonable to expect MCDOT to proactively comb through these PDFs to check if school buses can navigate these particular streets. This is the sort of thing where county agencies should work together, but they don't. And for MCPS bureaucrats to publicly bash MCDOT after MCPS office staff gave themselves a week off because snow, does not give me hope for future collaboration. I don't think MCPS even wants to collaborate they want a scapegoat.

Was the Taylor family on vacation or something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the county have a map of MCPS bus routes and bus stops?

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/transportation/busroutes/

+1000 The school bus routes and stops are not some securely guarded secret.

Do you seriously think this information is in a format that makes it efficient to identify streets/intersections with school bus service? It would take hours just to compile all of these individual PDF documents.

You don't have kids at all the schools do you? So it's not your damn job to know how to compile all the lists.

Lady we were talking about whether the COUNTY has access to a MAP of MCPS bus routes. Move right along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard about that. I think MCPS was asleep at the wheel all of last week, not realizing that this snowstorm was different from all the other storms we've had, and that snowplows had great difficulty clearing the ice... and so MCPS panicked over the weekend when they realized parents would be furious if Monday wasn't open, and threw everyone under the bus. I noticed they blamed homeowners as well.

They were asleep because they didn't have to go to work at all. Code Red means everything is closed, and it was Code Red Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. GMAFB

Seriously? Don’t public entities have a core of personnel that have to work to keep emergency operations going.

Contrast that with DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.

I guess no one is holding MCPS accountable to a high standard. Or even a mediocre standard

Seriously please stop quoting this “DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.” Clearly you have a hard on about those districts. MCPS has had food distributions sites open since last Wednesday.

And while I certainly think MCPS shoukd have communicated challenges more quickly, it's disingenuous for the county to act as if they don't understand what things are needed from them to ensure school can operate fully. They know sidewalks, bus stops, and space for buses to pass are needed. So really this is on everyone.

It’s accurate so no, there’s no reason to stop saying it. DC and Alexandria had virtual learning last Wednesday and food distribution while MCPS was closed. DC opened physically Thursday while Alexandria continued virtual learning til Monday.

I didn’t see communications about food distribution from MCPS. If they had it last Wednesday, great. But that doesn’t change the fact that two school districts that serve kids poorer than in MCPS got their act together days earlier.

Why don't you move to Alexandria. Bye.

No need to limit yourself to Alexandria. DCPS, HoCo, Falls Church, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore all opened earlier than MCPS. So many choices nearby.

[Anonymous]

If MCPS is accountable (LOL), they should start to put effort and FTE in developing extreme weather contingent transportation plan. Some quick fixes could be tag each stop in different categories, and under extreme weather, only providing stops at category 1 stops (central stops). Or develop special bus routes in plan B and only activate plan B under emergencies. This is what transportation dept with all GIS data can easily do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard about that. I think MCPS was asleep at the wheel all of last week, not realizing that this snowstorm was different from all the other storms we've had, and that snowplows had great difficulty clearing the ice... and so MCPS panicked over the weekend when they realized parents would be furious if Monday wasn't open, and threw everyone under the bus. I noticed they blamed homeowners as well.

They were asleep because they didn't have to go to work at all. Code Red means everything is closed, and it was Code Red Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. GMAFB

Kids weren’t supposed to have school Monday of last week anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even their message today makes clear they didn't want to open because they claim an indeterminate number of kids could not go to school due to bus problems on "impassable" roads. Sounds like poor problem solving skills to me.

Have you seen the McPS attendance data? They have lot of kids absent even when it’s bright and sunny. Blaming the school buses and sidewalks without data sounds like McPS is trying to build a case justifying why it stayed closed longer than other school districts.

Do you even do any work other than post complaints on DCUM about MCPS? Wait…Is that your job?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If MCPS is accountable (LOL), they should start to put effort and FTE in developing extreme weather contingent transportation plan. Some quick fixes could be tag each stop in different categories, and under extreme weather, only providing stops at category 1 stops (central stops). Or develop special bus routes in plan B and only activate plan B under emergencies. This is what transportation dept with all GIS data can easily do.

Or a virtual learning plan if they insist on staying closed until all the ice melts.

I loved the email where they said they weren’t permitted by the state to offer virtual learning. The state of Maryland authorizes school districts to offer virtual learning during an emergency weather event if they submit a plan.
MCPS posted a presentation about planning to do a plan in 2024 and never did it.