This is all about potential liability and the adults....FFX County doesn't want to run the risk of getting sued if Little Susie's left toe gets cold and her parents decide to sue because she had to wait at the bus stop.

I am from New England and this is totally crazy. Don't use bio-diesel if it won't work in the cold. We have cold temps every few years in this country...we don't live in Miami.

Anonymous wrote:
How about finding a stay at home mom and paying her to watch your kids on days like this? Everyone should have some type of plan. What do you do when your child is sick?
SAHMs are not looking for babysitting money. But nice try.

Well, maybe you could volunteer to watch their kids on a Saturday night.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious as I'm new to area.. Will the late start hours be tacked on to the end of the year like snow days are? I think we've had 3 snow days and two late starts so is there already 3 days and four hours added to the end of the school year?

No, late starts are not tacked on. Three snow days have been used. If there are more snow days, they won't necessarily be tacked onto the end of school. They might pull teacher work days instead. It all depends.

Good to know. Thanks for answering

Also, check out the bottom of the FCPS calendar. It lists how days are made up.
http://www.fcps.edu/about/13-14cal.shtml

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious as I'm new to area.. Will the late start hours be tacked on to the end of the year like snow days are? I think we've had 3 snow days and two late starts so is there already 3 days and four hours added to the end of the school year?

No, late starts are not tacked on. Three snow days have been used. If there are more snow days, they won't necessarily be tacked onto the end of school. They might pull teacher work days instead. It all depends.

Good to know. Thanks for answering

Anonymous wrote:Just curious as I'm new to area.. Will the late start hours be tacked on to the end of the year like snow days are? I think we've had 3 snow days and two late starts so is there already 3 days and four hours added to the end of the school year?

No, late starts are not tacked on. Three snow days have been used. If there are more snow days, they won't necessarily be tacked onto the end of school. They might pull teacher work days instead. It all depends.

Just curious as I'm new to area.. Will the late start hours be tacked on to the end of the year like snow days are? I think we've had 3 snow days and two late starts so is there already 3 days and four hours added to the end of the school year?

Anonymous wrote:How about finding a stay at home mom and paying her to watch your kids on days like this? Everyone should have some type of plan. What do you do when your child is sick?

SAHMs are not looking for babysitting money. But nice try.

A few things...untreated diesel will gel when it gets this cold. In the midwest, VT, etc, they treat the diesel or use gas buses. Treating the fuel costs money...and once every 10 years does not justify the cost (same thing with snow closing....FCPS closes on average 3 times a year, as does Binghamton NY).

Another factor is how many kids are going in with long johns? we have clothes appropriate for 20 degrees, mostly. Not for zero or 20 below.

I used to live in the upper midwest and in upstate NY. This time of year, I wore warmer clothing. My DD does not have a jacket for 10 below.

And what happens if there is something like a fire alarm? (not a fire drill)?

It is the right call for the area.

As a great man once said, "Do not ask a barber if you need a haircut".

In this case, do not ask the teachers and school administrators if they need to come to work today on time.

I am sure teachers are individually very nice and admirable people, but this is what happens when the incentives are set as they were.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is forecast to be 2 degrees at 6:30 am tomorrow morning...

link?

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?w0=t&w1=td&w2=wc&w3=sfcwind&w3u=1&w4=sky&w5=pop&w6=rh&w7=thunder&w8=rain&w9=snow&w10=fzg&w11=sleet&AheadHour=8&Submit=Submit&FcstType=graphical&textField1=38.84622&textField2=-77.30637&site=all&unit=0&dd=0&bw=0

Looks like 9 degrees at 6:30 am.

And it is 8 degrees at 7 am. (Actually at 6:58 am.)

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?textField1=38.84622359999999&textField2=-77.30637330000002

Anonymous wrote:Why are the busses in fairfax so special? They work in Vermont and in Wisconsin and Illinois in similar temperatures. I don't get it.

$$$

Anonymous wrote:

So they should have no bus service days so kids whose parents have cars can avoid a two hour delay? What about kids whose parents don't have cars? I guess those kids just don't get to go to school that day, but no big deal, your kid is taken care of. Maybe you don't know anyone without a car, but in some parts of Fairfax County it's not uncommon.

Apparently the It's All About Me parents don't care what happens in other parts of the county.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about finding a stay at home mom and paying her to watch your kids on days like this? Everyone should have some type of plan. What do you do when your child is sick?

I have plans for when there are extenuating circumstances ... like illness. NOT for freakin 20 degree weather! SMH.

It is forecast to be 2 degrees at 6:30 am tomorrow morning, when many middle and high schoolers are outside (in the dark) waiting at their bus stops. I am guessing FCPS thought it would be good to delay the start so the buses would have time to warm up and the temps are above 10 degrees when they pick up middle and high schoolers.

The way the bus routes work, the middle/high school runs are first, and then the buses make their elementary school runs.

Fine. Then have "no bus service" days. No need to completely lose another day of school.

So they should have no bus service days so kids whose parents have cars can avoid a two hour delay? What about kids whose parents don't have cars? I guess those kids just don't get to go to school that day, but no big deal, your kid is taken care of. Maybe you don't know anyone without a car, but in some parts of Fairfax County it's not uncommon.

It's big government saying, "We don't trust you to take care of your children so we will make the decision for you."

I agree it's totally BS to close/delay the schools just because it's cold. Do they really believe kids in the northern part of our country don't go to school in the winter? Are there not students waiting outside for buses or walking to school in the winters?
This is liking stealing taxpayers' money, which is unacceptable.