It's gonna be a while till schools reopen. Waiver anyone?

School may begin on Monday but it will be without me. I have 4' drifts over my car and the street has not been plowed. Even if my car can move, I won't be able to short of a miracle.

Thursday or Friday.

I am pretty certain there will not be school tomorrow or even Tuesday. Many city schools have on street parking. Some use off and on street parking and on a good day there is a shortage of parking at many schools. Further, I have yet to see a plow and our cars are buried. I will not risk my health to dig out quickly for any job. I do not have a driver! Many city kids walk and need to be able to do that safely. I just wish the power to be would make the call so we dont kill ourselves trying to be ready when we could pace ourselves if we knew the plan. I hate last miunute decisions.At this point, we will make up what we need to make up and the state will wave what they will and so be it. What is the rush if life and limb are at risk?

Parents can work with their kids at home. Have the kids read, turn off TV, help them write some responses, do some math at their level. Don't forget; all the city kids can get into TSSS-Student Resources- where there are all sorts of wonderful websites, databases, homework helpers,and other resources to help learning at home. Every student should know his/her username and password. Happy home schooling for a few days.

Liz -- Could you do a story on who makes snow day decisions and what the criteria are for two-hour delays in opening schools? Dig a little, please, and get into the details of how insurance contracts, lawyers, and fear of lawsuits influence the process.

One key angle which I've never seen addressed in the Sun: how many unsupervised kids end up in the emergency room (or dead) when schools open two hours late or close two hours early and parents are forced to make last-minute adjustments to their schedules, often leaving kids with little or no supervision.

Something tells me that the schools don't care much if kids get hurt, as long as it doesn't happen on school property, and as long as school bureaucrats don't get blamed or sued.

Well, I just heard the great Joe Hairston on WBAL and he will not issue a directive about tomorrow until 5:00 this evening. He takes every opportunity to announce "I am the superintendent." Implied in that statement is "look at me...I am in charge...I will do as I please." Even the people on the news desk seemed to know that this is just ridiculous.

Joe Hairston, please make the obvious announcement that schools cannot open on Monday or even Tuesday. Do you really think transportation and safety are better than they were after the Dec. snow when we needed 2 1/2 days out? If you make the announcement now, parents have a reasonable time frame to make child-care arrangements, get permission to work at home, etc.

Montgomery County has announced that they are closed for Monday and Tuesday.

Finally, Baltimore City has called a snow day before 5:30 am the day of. Thank you Baltimore City! As for the day we return to school, I say it will be either Wednesday or Thursday.

I live on a side street off a side street, and in order for me to drive out of my neighborhood I'd have to shovel about 12 blocks. If I want to walk around, I walk through 2 to 3 feet of snow. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only Baltimore resident in this situation, and I'm also pretty sure that there are plenty of schools located on side streets off side streets. The bcpss website is requesting that relevant personnel report for snow removal; but it's a lot more than shoveling and salting some side walks in many cases. A few hours of sunlight might melt off nearly clear snow and ice but for those of us dealing with more than two feet of snow and ice, it's going to be quite some time.

If we get another 6+ inches on Tues-Wed, my guess is that schools wont reopen until next Tuesday - Monday is a holiday. Blocked sidewalks and snowpiled bus stops are a factor.

Last time it snowed like this (Feb. 2003) Baltimore City schools were closed for an entire week!! I have a feeling that we will not be returning to work until next Tuesday (Monday is a legal holiday).

I've heard rumors that they will take away spring break to make up the days. Anybody know anything about this? Would they push back testing days or just add a bajillion days onto the end of the year?

when does Baltimore get it? the city is the last to make a decision about closing. one parent asks that the sun do a story on that why are they always dragging their feet about closing. the kids and teachers have to make up the days anyway so why not consider everyone's safety and make a quick decision. perhaps the numskull in charge is one of those indecisive types "should I, shouldn't I should I, come on get real will you.

The latest that I read was that only 20% of bus lines were operating, and even those on limited schedule. So even in the best of all scenarios, if the sidewalks were clear, because the majority of the middle and high school student use the MTA to get to school, until the buses are running, the school should stay closed.

And MTA should be able to keep Alonso informed so that the decisions don't have to be last minute.

Due to the race for the top money and the already ridiculous amount of stock they put in the MSA scores, are they going to push the testing dates back? I teach in the city and god knows these kids need the prep time (unfortunately curbing my creativity for a month or so).

I'm just wondering why Hairston did not feel that the safety of the office support staff to the Baltimore County Schools was important as he made his decision about closings due the blizzard. This was not an "ordinary" snow storm--It was considered an "historic weather event."

Don't the office people warrant any respect or consideration? Because of this decision, office personnel will have to take their own alloted time if they were absent from work today. I am hoping a more thoughtful decision will be made if Tuesday's storm turns out to be monumental, as well.

Many, many people are still stranded in their neighborhoods due to no fault of their own. This seems like more disrespect to the people who keep the schools' gears running all year long.

Other school systems that VALUE their administrative staff have included them in the closing decisions.

It would be nice to be respected for a change.

I agree with Wondering Why. Most of the other counties closed their offices this week, but not Balto. County. Are they just trying to save a buck and force people to take vacation or sick time? Don't they care about their safety too? Don't they realize how much stress it causes--to go in or not to go in?

Balto. County closed schools and offices today through Friday. Not sure what caused the change, but I'm grateful!

Today is Friday, February 12. In the Rodgers Forge community - the sidewalks on York Road HAVE NOT BEEN PLOWED. Instead the plows put the snow on the sidewalks. Its still icey on the secondary road sidewalks. It appears that many residents used a snow blower so there is an 18 inch path cut through 3+ feet of snow. There will be kids in the road for sure. I want my high-schooler back ASAP but not at the cost of something happening to a kid.

does anyone know when baltimore city schools plan on reopening? why is there not a decsion yet?

It seems that every city school I saw over the weekend had unplowed parking lots/walkways and the surrounding sidewalks were not clear either. Unless a miracle has occurred - I bet they still covered.

If schools open tomorrow (Tues 2/16) I can't see how this is going to be safe for bus stops and kids (esp in the city) who walk to school.

Either way - I too would like to know what specific criteria must be met before schools open.

So far... Baltimore County, Howard and Anne Arundel Co. have announced they will be closed Tuesday. How much longer will they be closed?

all of this is stupid