More Frederick County Schools Failure

With Frederick County Schools being closed again tomorrow, it looks like the Frederick County Government can't do its job either.

School Superintendent Linda Burgee posted a message on the FCPS Webpage in which she encouraged people to help out:

I encourage every able citizen to lend a shovel, snow blower, ice pick or deicer to the snow removal effort in your community. Make sure the sidewalk in front of your home is passable. Next time you sprinkle deicer in your driveway, sprinkle a little extra on that ice patch in the street. Shovel a few extra feet of snow, perhaps at the bus stop around the corner or in the one-lane section of your road. And imagine the magic an entire neighborhood’s fleet of snow
blowers could perform to clear the way to a quicker opening!

Well, what the heck do I pay my county and state taxes for? Why should I being asked to help out by plowing or deicing sidewalks?

In my part of the county, my daughter can walk from my house to her school (about 3/4 mile away) on completely cleared sidwalks, and crossing only two streets the whole way. the people in my townhouse court have gone above and beyond in getting our neighborhood passable, including shoveling the road when the HOA didn't come by and plow our road.

But let's also talk about priority. As I mentioned in my previous post, there was a snowblowing tractor on a main road that was already cleared. There was a snow blower working on side walks leading to the local high school, which is good. But if there are roads that are not passable, then why is the country working on roads that are passable?

I pay and inordinate amount of money in taxes for a bunch of services that have absolutely no impact on me, so I think I have done more than my part to get my neighborhood into shape enough for my daughter to get to school. If the schools need help getting roads cleared, why are they asking me, why aren't heads rolling at country/state road departments? Why doesn't the county have more workers out?

Then there was this little bit:

After hearing the latest road condition reports and forecasts from the County’s highway department and local municipal leaders today, we have decided keep schools closed through Wednesday, February 17. This will allow road crews to continue their work and our bus drivers to personally drive their routes in their own vehicles to identify trouble spots.

As I have said, hardly any snow has fallen since last Wednesday, so why weren't but drivers traveling their routes on say Sunday or Monday when schools were closed for the weekend and President's Day? What the heck are people thinking? Why are we only now asking bus drivers to examine their routes, after closing the schools for the seventh scheduled school day in a row?

Priorities and thinking are not being done and the people who suffer are the kids. My daughter is going nuts, my work has been disrupted beyond measure, my wife (who is paid hourly by the University System of Maryland is now into unpaid leave) It costs almost as much for a babysitter as it does for my wife to take the day off without pay.

This issue is not about student safety, it is about being afraid of a lawsuit. Some kid gets hurt on the way to school, slips on an icy patch and then sues the school. It is fear, not safety driving this decision.