By Jenna Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 28, 2008

It's that time of year, when Southern Maryland students become avid amateur meteorologists and watch the sky for any hint of snow.

At the same time, school administrators begin looking at the radar, knowing they might soon have to make the big call: Should they cancel a day of school and potentially disrupt the academic calendar? Or is it safe for students and staff members to be on the road?

In each school district, such a decision is made by several administrators.

"It's not me!" St. Mary's County School Superintendent Michael J. Martirano reminded school board members during a meeting this year.

It's also not the school board's decision, several members said, although they frequently receive angry phone calls from people questioning a decision to close schools or keep them open.

School administrators monitor the weather daily and keep an eye on approaching storms, said J. Bradley Clements, chief administrative officer for St. Mary's schools. A few days before bad weather is expected, maintenance workers check snow removal equipment and review storm procedures.

The weather-monitoring continues through the week until it snows or road surfaces freeze. On such a day, consultations begin at 3 a.m. School transportation supervisors in each Southern Maryland county compare road reports. They also check with law enforcement and road officials. Finally, they drive the roads most commonly used by buses and parents taking their children to school. Martirano says he tries to travel with the road supervisors in St. Mary's.

By 4:30 a.m., after reviewing reports, Clements makes his recommendation to the superintendent on whether to close schools. Southern Maryland officials say they try to make the decision by about 5 a.m.

Weather conditions often vary widely across a county. For example, the southern tip of St. Mary's could be buried under snow, while the northern end experiences just cold rain. But cancellations always are countywide, even if bad weather is isolated to one part, Clements said.

Sometimes, rather than cancel a day of classes, school systems will delay the opening of school by two hours, giving snow removal crews more time to clear or salt roads.

In each county, parents can check newspaper Web sites or TV and radio reports, visit a school system's Web site or call information lines set up by schools.

All of the school systems have extra days added into the calendar that can be used as makeup days for emergency closings.