Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 20:16     Subject: Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

My kids are in preschool and kindergarten. Either way, no reason to drive on the roads at this age so snow day for me!
Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 17:31     Subject: Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax called off school in time for the 10 o'clock news last night. MCPS sent a text shortly before 5 this morning, which meant getting up at 6 to see if there was school for my high school student and then resetting the alarm for an hour for me to get up for work. Tomorrow I'm making her check!


I did the same thing and it was really annoying!
Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 17:20     Subject: Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

Anonymous wrote:Because not everyone has a boss they can just call up and say *Gee I dunno if I'll be in tomorrow. It'll depends on if school is open or not*.

When you have a job that you have no choice but to go into, the added uncertainty of MCPS traditional Will They or Won't They? is just more stress you don't need.



This makes no sense. The school should make a decision on when it will close when it has enough information to determine whether buses can run and teachers can make it in. The school district is not a daycare provider. It is not there in order to make it easier for your career. They are there to provide an education, and their obligation is to keep the schools open if at all possible.

And frankly, you have certainty for your employer: If schools are closed, you will be not be in. That is certain and true, whether you tell them at 5:00 pm or 5:00 am.
Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 17:17     Subject: Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

Anonymous wrote:Because not everyone has a boss they can just call up and say *Gee I dunno if I'll be in tomorrow. It'll depends on if school is open or not*.

When you have a job that you have no choice but to go into, the added uncertainty of MCPS traditional Will They or Won't They? is just more stress you don't need.


Yeah, and a lot of poor families depend on the two meals a day their kids get at school. There are implications for families either way. All we can do is plan for our own worst case scenario, whether it be open or closed, and wait until the storm actually comes.
Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 16:51     Subject: Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

Fairfax called off school in time for the 10 o'clock news last night. MCPS sent a text shortly before 5 this morning, which meant getting up at 6 to see if there was school for my high school student and then resetting the alarm for an hour for me to get up for work. Tomorrow I'm making her check!
Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 16:47     Subject: Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

Because not everyone has a boss they can just call up and say *Gee I dunno if I'll be in tomorrow. It'll depends on if school is open or not*.

When you have a job that you have no choice but to go into, the added uncertainty of MCPS traditional Will They or Won't They? is just more stress you don't need.

Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 16:42     Subject: Re:Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

Anonymous wrote:
What is the problem with waiting until the early morning? Why must people know now? Just make a plan A and a Plan B for tomorrow. Too many freakin control freaks around here.


It doesn't make a difference for me. I can always telework and don't use before care. I feel bad for the families who need to figure out morning care and take multiple forms of transportation to get to work. There are a good number of working class families that drop their kids off at before care at 6:30 in the morning. When the administrative offices delay, childcare delays too. Its not really fair to the staff who work at before care and those families to just wait until 5 am when they could have made the call the night before that before care would not be open until 11 am. I doubt the before care staff live in Bethesda and walk to work.


But it is not a surprise that school might close tomorrow. It is not as if these people will be taken by surprise if school closes tomorrow. We know there is a good chance it will close, so we can make contingency plans now. why must there be certainty before the first snowflake even falls?
Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 16:35     Subject: Re:Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

What is the problem with waiting until the early morning? Why must people know now? Just make a plan A and a Plan B for tomorrow. Too many freakin control freaks around here.


It doesn't make a difference for me. I can always telework and don't use before care. I feel bad for the families who need to figure out morning care and take multiple forms of transportation to get to work. There are a good number of working class families that drop their kids off at before care at 6:30 in the morning. When the administrative offices delay, childcare delays too. Its not really fair to the staff who work at before care and those families to just wait until 5 am when they could have made the call the night before that before care would not be open until 11 am. I doubt the before care staff live in Bethesda and walk to work.
Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 16:26     Subject: Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

Fairfax County only has state plows. They can't get it done as fast as MoCo, which uses state, county, and some municipal plows. We had a shot of being clear this morning, at least enough for a late delay. Fairfax never did. Why prematurely cancel school? Better to wait until certain.
Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 16:01     Subject: Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

What is the problem with waiting until the early morning? Why must people know now? Just make a plan A and a Plan B for tomorrow. Too many freakin control freaks around here.
Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 16:00     Subject: Re:Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

Are people who work in MCPS that stupid that they don't understand the difference between yesterday and today? Good grief.

Yesterday evening it was apparent that the icing did occur and no credible weather agency believed that it would magically melt by morning. Yesterday, they should have announced earlier like other school systems. This evening, the event has not yet occurred. It would be reasonable for them to wait in this situation until the adverse event is closer.

Its not that hard but I guess its too much for MCPS. They should just watch Fairfax and follow what they do. Sigh.
Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 15:55     Subject: Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

Just watch. One large district will announce a closure tonight if the forecast holds and the others will follow suit.
Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 15:52     Subject: Re:Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

They should, but they won't - been burned too many times with an incorrect forecast.
Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 15:51     Subject: Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

NO!!!! That's ridiculous.
Anonymous
Post 12/09/2013 15:45     Subject: Should MCPS announce a closure for tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the forecast?

OK...flame away!