Lingering snow in central and northern Orange County will lead to a third consecutive day of no school.
The Orange County Schools district shared an alert with families and students around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday saying instruction for Wednesday is canceled once again as road conditions continue to present problems for safely returning staff and students to campuses. It will be an optional workday for staff, said the alert.
“At this time, icy conditions are still affecting many of our secondary roads that are not US or NC highways,” wrote Orange County Schools’ communications team. “These roads are not just driven by our buses, but also by our student drivers, our families, and our staff, many of whom travel from areas where roads also remain hazardous. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”
Similar to the prior week when the district held five consecutive remote learning days, Orange County Schools shared photos on Facebook of snowy and icy conditions its transportation team scouted on secondary roads.
Because the district used its five allotted remote learning days in the aftermath of wintry mix and ice from Winter Storm Fern on Jan. 24, it is left only with cancelling instruction entirely in the aftermath of Winter Storm Gianna — which dropped several inches of snow across parts of the county, including 6 inches in Hillsborough. Between these cancelled days and two others cancelled in December, Orange County Schools announced Monday it would convert a teacher workday scheduled for Monday, Feb. 16 to a typical day of class to keep up with state law requiring public school districts to hold either 185 days or 1,025 total hours of instruction.
Meanwhile, Chatham County Schools will also have students return to campuses on Wednesday, sharing plans for a two-hour delay after cancelling classes on Monday and Tuesday. The Chatham district said while the road conditions “improved greatly over the course of the week,” it will still encourage folks to exercise caution while driving and to dress appropriately to stay warm.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools will return to normal instructional hours on Wednesday after holding remote learning days both Monday and Tuesday. The decision was made thanks to vastly improved roads and a lower amount of snowfall, with the district acknowledging that staff who live outside of the Chapel Hill and Carrboro town limits may need to coordinate with supervisors if they still feel unsafe to travel on Wednesday. CHCCS still has one more remote learning day at its disposal before being required to either hold in-person instruction or cancel classes from inclement weather.
Featured images via Orange County Schools.
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