Editor: The decision to close Fairfax County Public Schools facilities on March 12 due to a “snow” event was poor, and jeopardized the opportunity for many high-school seniors to qualify for college financial aid.
Many colleges used that that last SAT-exam date (set for March 12) to determine eligibility for scholarships or other types of financial assistance. Missing out on the test did more to put students at risk than any road conditions they may have encountered.
Photos taken by me in my McLean neighborhood around 12:30 p.m. on March 12 show a clean street and a clean sidewalk, neither of which had to be plowed or treated. The non-snow matched the prediction issued by WRC-TV the night before – this forecast showed that snow in the immediate area was going to be an inch or less and, even elsewhere, was not going to accumulate on any roads.
This is about as close to a non-event as you can get. Yet the impact on students was substantial.
This is yet another example of the poor management shown by FCPS leadership. Hopefully, voters will remember this when election time rolls around, and make choices that will result in schools better serving their communities.
Larry Allen, McLean