By Madison Dymond and Milan Polk ’16

Yesterday, Montgomery County officials decided to close schools next week due to a 70-percent chance of one inch of snow. Fairfax County in Virginia canceled, making the decision to cancel classes two days earlier. In the past, MCPS has been met with opposition to its late cancellations and poor judgment in the face of snowfall while Fairfax County has received nothing but praise.

Last year, MCPS was sued by a family after their son, second-grader Alex McDowell, skateboarded on the ice and bruised his tail bone. “It’s completely unacceptable that MCPS didn’t cancel after hearing of my son’s injury while waiting for the bus,” said Nancy McDowell, the mother of Alex. The family was compensated and now MCPS is attempting to alleviate the situation by canceling school even before the first snowfall of the new school year. The compensation came in a large lump sum, with the check delivered with a fair amount of press coverage that appreciated MCPS efforts. This new story gives the county a small increase in ratings in regards to snow days.

The process of deciding whether or not to cancel is up to a team of litigators hired by MCPS. One of the members, Terry Gersht, explained the careful consideration the group takes to keep students safe. “After we hear of the forecast, we all sit together and try to predict the possibility of lawsuits, I mean, injuries that could result from the inclement weather.” There are no students or parents allowed in the meetings. Gersht says it would be a liability as the citizens are biased and do not know how to make objective decisions that will affect the entire county.

Gersht and his colleagues usually take up to a full night of deliberation. He says that the county cannot afford to waste money on frivolous lawsuits, and has to seriously consider the status of schools during the harsh winter months. “With the terrible economy we don’t want to take any risks. It would be unfair to the people of Montgomery County and the hard working students and faculty of these schools. If we have to spend money on lawsuits, there’s less to go towards my associates, and so we can’t keep working for you,” Gersht said.

Gersht admits that the group has already made plans for the next school year. “The new policy is called ‘Endless Snow Days.’” The policy will ensure that the county can make as many cancellations as necessary without being penalized in any way, and instead focus more funds towards education.