Too Cool for School? SPEAK OUT

By Patch Staff

Maryland school systems faced a tough decision about delaying or canceling classes Tuesday when there wasn't snow or ice in most areas but wind chills reached sub-zero temperatures. 

Harford County Public Schools were closed and there was a delayed opening for Prince George's schools on Tuesday.

With a similar forecast for Wednesday, schools will be forced to make the call again about whether to operate on a regular schedule despite the bitter cold.

Parents and students took to social media to debate schools opening on time in Anne Arundel County. Some parents were also vocal on Edgewater Patch's Facebook page: Some parents thought school should have been canceled or delayed due to the risk of frostbite in below-zero temperatures. Others felt that parents should bundle up their kids and send them in like any other day.

Parents in Montgomery County were equally divided with oneGaithersburg Patch Facebook reader adding that schools in New England don't close for cold temperatures or less than six inches of snow. Another reader, originally from Alaska, cautioned against schools being open saying, "cold is dangerous; you don't play around with it," on the Rockville Patch Facebook page.

In Baltimore County, where school opened two hours late, parents were still upset that schools opened at all. On the Owings Mills-Reisterstown Patch Facebook page, one reader pointed out that the delay did not make a difference; the temperature was only two degrees higher.

Many comments focused on students having to spend time outside waiting for the bus, changing classes (walking around campuses with breezeway or portable classrooms) or responding to a fire alarm.

Winston Churchill High School students were evacuated for about 10 minutes Tuesday after a malfunctioning pipe triggered the alarm, a Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman said. School officials determined there was no fire.

There were stories shared on the Westminster Patch Facebook page about buses breaking down or running without heat.

TELL US: Should Maryland schools close for cold temps?