DECISIONS REGARDING DELAYING OR CLOSING SCHOOLS FOR INCLEMENT WEATHER:

There has been much discussion amongst parents today as to why schools were delayed 2 hours "when their streets were just fine". 

So we thought we would let you know so you can let your community parents know when and how this decision of delayed or closing of our schools is made. 

First, this decision is not made to inconvenience parents. It is for the safety of our children. Our county has a wide-range of topography. While Columbia/Elkridge may have dry roads, Lisbon/Mt. Airy, who are at higher elevation, may have icy roads. It is based on all the county road conditions. There are 71 + 2 special schools in our county with almost 50,000 students. Their safety is the key to this decision. 

Here is the question and answer page from: http://www.hcpss.org/aboutus/guidelines_weather.shtml 

Who makes the decision to close schools due to inclement weather?
The superintendent makes the decision with a recommendation from the school system's director of Transportation.

Upon what is the decision based?

The director of Transportation begins to assess inclement weather conditions at 3 a.m. He checks e-mail reports from Accuweather Snow Warning Service, a service contracted by the school system, and reviews different weather websites to observe the path of storms in the area. He can also check the temperature at 18 different weather stations, which are based at the Central Office and various schools throughout the county.

If the reported conditions are of concern, the Transportation director and his crew are on the streets by 3:30 a.m. For one hour, they travel roads in their assigned areas, especially through known trouble spots. They also look to see how the county and state road departments are responding to the weather.

The Transportation director may also call the police department to get their assessment of the conditions, and then check with surrounding school systems to compare notes. Based on all this information the Transportation director makes a recommendation to the superintendent.

When is the decision made?

The decision to delay or close schools is made by 5 a.m. and a telephone tree is started to alert key school staff members and local media. 
By 5:30 a.m., a notice is posted on HCPSS News.

School openings may be delayed one or two hours. On rare occasions when weather conditions worsen or do not improve after a delay has been announced, a second announcement may be made to close schools instead.