UPDATE, Jan. 28, 9 p.m. - Prince William County Schools have called a CODE GREEN for Thursday, Jan. 29, retracting their 2-hour delay.
More information to follow.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE, Jan. 28, 7 p.m.
Residents Decry Prince William County Schools' Decision to Open with 2-hour Delay, Thursday
Prince William County Schools’ decision to open schools, Thursday, Jan. 29, with a 2-hour delay has proved highly controversial with residents on social media.
A snowstorm that began on Saturday night and continued into Sunday resulted in an approximate accumulation of 8-inches of snow and ice in Prince William County, while freezing tempertures throughout the week had kept snow from melting.
In response to weather and road conditions, the school division canceled its Monday Teacher Workday; declared Tuesday a Code Red snow day, and called Code Green on Wednesday, requiring administrative staff to report to work.
Those decisions received little criticism.
However, Prince William Public Schools is an outlier in Northern Virginia for its decision to hold school on Thursday. Neighboring districts: City of Manassas, Manassas Park, and the counties of Loudoun, Fauquier will be closed for students, Thursday. Fairfax County Public Schools had previously scheduled a staff development day with no school for students.
PWCS provided the following message on its Facebook page, saying that school lots and sidewalks have been cleared, although there may be reduced parking spaces.
It also explains that parents/guardians should use their discretion. If they consider roads and sidewalks to be unsafe for travel, they can allow their student to stay home.
That post was closed to comments.
Prince William County Public Schools
The two-hour delay will provide additional time for travel and for daylight conditions. Parents/guardians have the option to not send their child to school if they consider roads/sidewalks in their area unsafe for travel.
Facilities and custodial teams have actively cleared school lots and sidewalks; there will be reduced parking and sidewalk access due to snow piles from clearing efforts. Staff and families should allow additional time for arrival and departure and anticipate that conditions will vary and may not be perfect. Due to persistent freezing temperatures, some icy spots on parking lots and sidewalks may remain present until temperatures rise in the coming weeks. Please note that pathways extending into or through neighborhoods, are not part of PWCS school-based snow and ice treatment, community partnership in clearing such routes is appreciated.
Despite the caveat that parents could keep children home, the decision to open schools on Jan. 29 was met with widespread criticism.
Parents worried about road, sidewalk and bus stop conditions.
On Western Prince William Chatter, a community Facebook page, people argued about whether residents should go out and clean sidewalks and bus stops before dark, Wednesday. One woman said, “We are mad at the school to be (on) a 2 hour delay, and not at homeowners for not cleaning their sidewalks?”
However, others explained that snow plows dumped heavy snow and ice at bus stops, limiting where it is safe for students to stand. Some walkways also remained covered with heavy snow, including along major roadways which students travel on, yet have no homes along them.
Neighborhoods also varied in the extent to which roads were cleared.
One woman posted a photo of a rural neighborhood in which the road was completely covered in snow, save for tire tracks. She said they don’t even have sidewalks in her neighborhood.
Another concern is Thursday's weather would negatively affect students waiting at bus stops or walking to school. Freezing temperatures are expected all day, Thursday, in the area, beginning at 9 degrees Fahrenheit at 7 a.m., rising to 14 degrees at 9 a.m. and reaching 22 degrees by noon in Manassas, according to the Weather Channel.
Parents worried that not all children would dress appropriately, or some people might not have appropriately warm clothing.
And people thought that icy conditions on roads could be dangerous to school bus drivers as well.
Aimee Guiarro, PWCS transportation route manager for Zone 9, sent to bus drivers a message, Wednesday, advising them – especially those without drop chains - to take slow.
“SLOW and STEAD WINS THE RACE, so to speak,” the message read.
Finally, some staff members travel from outside the county, making their commute more difficult. When so many teachers are absent, and substitutes are unavailable, and it directly affects students.
Many also noted that classes would also have to postpone anything of great importance to the curriculum should many students be absent that day.
Of course, there was pushback, with people saying parents could simply keep their children home, and pointing out that school would benefit children who needed school meals and other safe conditions not provided in their homes.
Yesli Vega, Supervisor of the Coles District, addressed comments she received about Thursday’s delayed opening on her Facebook page, saying, “Nothing is more important than our children’s safety. Nothing.”
She told parents to trust their judgement, and she would monitor reads and sidewalks that were brought to her attention.
“To be clear: The Board of County Supervisors has no authority over school opening or closing decisions.
That said, as a parent myself, I completely understand the very real safety concerns many families have raised. It is reasonable and responsible for parents to decide it is not safe to send their children out to wait for a bus or walk to school.
Nothing is more important than our children’s safety. Nothing.
If you believe the conditions at your child’s bus stop or along their route remain unsafe, trust your judgment as a parent and keep them home if needed. The same concern extends to our teachers and school staff who are also navigating these conditions.
I will continue monitoring roads, sidewalks, and problem areas brought to my attention across the Coles District and will keep pushing for faster resolution.
While there was talk of another snowstorm coming this weekend, the Weather Channel is now reporting no snow over the weekend, although temperatures will remain below freezing.
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