Should Schools Close for Light Snow Conditions?

School was cancelled again today because of the weather conditions including slick roads and walkways and a sheet of ice covering pretty much everything.

Prince George's County Public Schools sent an alert after 7 a.m.

Central administrative offices are on a two-hour delay. Twelve-month employees are expected to come to work, but a liberal leave policy is in effect for non-emergency personnel.

Hyattsville resident Stuart Eisenberg has one child at a public school in Greenbelt and a child at a private school in Mount Rainier.

“Driving conditions were challenging last night, on the way back from Annapolis,” he said. “And early this [morning] they were downright dangerous. But I do believe our school system would benefit from better preparedness and training to deal with winter storm events. 

“Balancing concern for risk with the need to keep kids on track is difficult. I don’t know all the issues and risk factors facing the system and its buses. If a parking lot is on a slope today, I can tell you it’s vehicles won’t be going in or out due to extensive ice sheeting. I saw a cinder block that had slid down the Minority Access parking lot slope from the top, with no impetus to get it started.”

The weather channel is predicting more snow showers tonight and tomorrow. Patch will keep you posted on any further school closings.

In the meantime, the city's public works department began pre-treating roads at 6 p.m. last night. They are now clearing accumulated ice from the streets, according to a notice on the city's website.