Montgomery County Superintendent of Schools Jerry D. Weast informed the Montgomery County Board of Education Tuesday that he will seek a waiver from the state for five days of instruction as a result of the back-to-back blizzards in early February. If the waiver is granted by Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Nancy Grasmick—and there are no more emergency weather days this school year—the school calendar will not have to be adjusted and classes will end, as scheduled, on June 16.

“While I am concerned about the loss of instructional time, I believe this is the most prudent way to proceed, given the unprecedented nature of the weather in February,” Dr. Weast said. “As long as the weather cooperates for the rest of the year, we will not have to add any additional days to the school year if the waiver is granted.”

In 2009-2010, Montgomery County Public Schools has lost nine days of instruction due to snow—December 21-23, February 3 and February 8-12.  The Montgomery County Board of Education built four snow days into the 2009-2010 calendar, meaning the district  must account for five days of instruction in order to meet the state-required 180 days.

Last month, the Maryland State Board of Education gave Superintendent Grasmick the authority to waive up to five days of instruction due to the extreme nature of the weather in February. If MCPS does not receive a waiver for all five days—or if there are any additional cancellations due to weather emergencies—the remaining days will be added to the end of the school year.

When MCPS has received a response to its waiver request, we will notify parents, students and the community.