Posted 6:52 AM, Jan 22, 2025
RICHMOND, Va. — The largest school districts in Central Virginia all decided to cancel classes on Wednesday due to road conditions following a blast of winter weather Tuesday night. While Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico, and Hanover schools originally planned to start two hours late on Wednesday, they ultimately decided to cancel school after checking pre-dawn road conditions.
"Our team has continued to assess road conditions as a result of the inclement weather overnight, specifically in the far eastern portion of Hanover County. Conditions have not improved this morning, and roads remain hazardous for our buses, student drivers, staff, and parents," Hanover Schools posted on social media.
"HCPS Operations teams traveled main roads and neighborhood streets across the county this morning. They report unsafe road conditions for bus travel and icy school parking lots and roadways in several eastern areas of the county," Henrico Schools posted, along with photographic proof. "We know that morning closure announcements are difficult. Unfortunately, winter weather in our region is extremely unpredictable and often varies from one part of the county to another. Although families in the Tuckahoe, Brookland, and Three Chopt areas are not seeing snow, families in Varina and Fairfield neighborhoods are waking up to icy conditions. These photos show conditions at Elko and Fairfield middle schools and Highland Springs High School. Rest assured that in all cases, decisions about school closures are made based on student and employee safety."
"Due to road conditions, particularly in the southern part of the county, Chesterfield County schools will be closed on Wednesday," Chesterfield Schools added.
Richmond School Superintendent Jason Kamras sent a Wednesday afternoon email to families that explained his decision.
"First, regarding safety, we received reports from our Transportation Department at the conclusion of their road assessment this morning of icy narrow side streets (on the Southside, in particular) that may have posed a danger to our buses and our walkers. Given that weather temperatures were not expected to rise above freezing today (not even close, in fact), there was little chance these roads would have improved by late morning. I recognize that in some parts of the city the roads were perfectly fine. Unfortunately, in others, they were not," he said. "Second, regarding school operations, I had to take into consideration the fact that many of our incredible and dedicated staff members — including bus drivers, teachers, and other support staff — called out this morning, likely because many live outside the city where conditions were even worse. In addition, our staffing readiness was impacted by the closures of the surrounding counties, since many of our employees live outside of Richmond."
He then apologized to families inconvenienced by the later decision to cancel school.
"This one was a very close call. Announcements made the morning of school are extremely difficult and I did not make this one lightly. I take full responsibility," he said. "Thank you for your grace and understanding, and, as always, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions."
While temperatures will remain subfreezing on Thursday morning, they are expected to rise above freezing by Thursday afternoon.
What do you think about the decision to close schools? Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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