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Weather-related Closings
How do I find out about school closings or delays due
to inclement weather?
- Local television and radio stations.
- School system's cable channels 95 (Comcast) and 42 (Verizon).
-
eSchoolNewsletter
- HCPSS Information Hotline at 410-313-6666 to
check if schools are delayed or closed. You may also
call this number to find out if schools and fields
are open for community use after school and weekends
(call after 7:15 a.m. on weekends).
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
eSchoolNewsletter.
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. |
