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The snow seemed neverending yesterday—big fluffy flakes. The plow truck got rid of the snow on our roads for a few minutes. But then it was covered again.

HCPSS Facebook post last night: Right now, we’re delaying schools by 2 hours. BUT we are waiting until 7:30 AM to tell you what we’ve REALLY decided.

Working mom & dad conversation on Monday night: What meetings do you have tomorrow? Can you cancel one? Uh, no, this is a really important meeting? Can you call in? Well, why can’t you call into yours? What if it’s a delay? Well, I can take her to before-care if it’s 1 hour late. Well, if it’s 2 hours, that’s going to be really tight to get to my client. Well, I guess your job is so much more important. But I don't have any vacation time left because this has been such a snowy winter. On-and-on, you can imagine it. I've worked for many bosses who didn't care about me having a kid. I'm lucky I don't have a boss anymore, but the stress still gets to me.

And then knowing it was going to be canceled, why not just say so?

While I was complaining at HCPSS’ lengthy delay to announce the closing, someone said they’re worried about making a mistake. I get that. We are out of snow days. But it was patently obvious from our drive around the Mall area last night that roads would not be ideal for walkers, buses, cars, tricycles, horse & buggy, etc. Maybe for skiers and Siberian husky driven sleds. When I drove on Twin Rivers Rd. at 11:15 AM to go to the Athletic Club on Harper’s Farm, it was in bad shape. Especially on bends in the road. It was slushy. When I returned home around 1 PM, it was much better. But that road provides access to a high school and a middle school. Not good, people.

The Board of Education needs to start planning for makeup days. In Virginia Beach, they decided to have a Saturday make-up day. Although people complained, 78% of kids showed up. I don't want the county to apply for a waiver from the 180 day requirement. That's cheating the kids and saying rules don't matter if you ask nicely. I want my daughter in school. And I want that school time to be productive, not half days where they sit down, get organized, get 20 minutes of instruction and then the bell rings to move to the next class. Learning takes time and a lot of kids don't reset as quickly as others. 

This is an election year for some of the Board members. There has been a lot of focus on them recently, in regard to teacher pay increases (lack thereof, actually) and potential changes to the instrumental music program. They need to have creative options for dealing with our missed days and furthermore, they must elicit community feedback. We're watching.
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