Montgomery County Public Schools have announced they would remain closed Thursday and Friday. Parents may be wondering why.
A person works to free a vehicle stuck in snow and ice the middle of New Hampshire Avenue following a winter storm on Jan. 26, 2026 in Silver Spring, Maryland. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
A person works to free a vehicle stuck in snow and ice the middle of New Hampshire Avenue following a winter storm on Jan. 26, 2026 in Silver Spring, Maryland. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)(Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
As of midday Wednesday, Montgomery County officials said 90% of the roughly 5,400 miles of roadways they treat had been plowed.
But Montgomery County Public Schools have announced they would remain closed Thursday and Friday. Parents may be wondering why.
Superintendent Thomas Taylor told WTOP there are 230 school buildings and school facilities that have acres of parking lots and roadways that, like the public roads, have to be treated and cleared.
As of Tuesday evening, Taylor said the county roads “looked better,” but he said the job’s not done.
“We’re also fully aware, and receive numerous pictures from our families, of streets that haven’t been plowed, that haven’t been touched, that haven’t been treated, and we just know that we can’t get a bus down those roads safely,” Taylor said.
Taylor also said northern and western portions of the county often get more snow, and that the types of roads across Montgomery County vary from multilane residential routes to narrow streets.
“A significant portion of our county is actually agricultural reserve, and a lot of people overlook that,” Taylor said, referring to the two-lane rural routes that crisscross portions of Montgomery County.
Another issue that has to be considered, Taylor said, is the status of sidewalks and bus stops — both school bus stops and transit bus stops that many students use. When sidewalks aren’t cleared, it can lead pedestrians, including students, to walk in the roadways, creating more safety concerns.
While your neighborhood might look easily passable, Taylor said, “Your teacher’s road, your principal’s road, your paraprofessional’s road or your bus driver’s road may not be clear.”
“Without our critical staff to make it into the schoolhouse to open it up, it really isn’t school.”
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