Council President Natali Fani-González held a meeting on Tuesday to evaluate the impact of the recent snowstorm that brought life in the County to a frozen standstill starting on Saturday, Jan. 24.
Rich Madaleno, the County’s Chief Administrative Officer, testified it wasn’t until 2:13 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 1 that he got a list of MCPS properties and facilities that needed cleanup for schools to reopen.
MCPS Responds
On Wednesday morning, MCPS Chief of Staff Essie McGuire contested that statement in an email sent to Madaleno, the Council and the Board of Education.
In the email, McGuire stated MCPS had been in constant contact with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation all during the snow removal process.
‘That’s Not Our Job!’
The email maintained that MCPS was responsible for school campuses, but the clearing of sidewalks, roads, intersections and curbs fell to MCDOT. MCPS felt the portrayal of late outreach was “not accurate.”
Communicated in bold letters, the email expressed frustration with the perception that MCPS was the problem. “Should MCPS have provided a list of uncleared streets earlier? That’s not our job!”
Whose Job is It?
Here’s how the email outlined the roles of MCPS and MCDOT during the snow emergency.
MCPS relied on this clear division of responsibility. Our focus remained on school readiness and student safety, while road conditions and remediation appropriately remained within the county’s purview.
McGuire included a timeline of communication events between MCDOT and MCPS during the following week and beyond.
Additionally, the email cited four Zoom meetings by Chief Emergency Manager Marcus Jones with county Emergency Management about storm preparations and post storm cleanup.
Finally, the message reminded recipients that MCPS manages 211 schools encompassing 5,200 miles of roads. And the safe arrival of all students whether on foot or traveling by bus or car remains their chief concern whenever schools reopen.
More from Madaleno
As of this report, Madaleno has not responded to the MCPS email. But he did state at the Tuesday council meeting that while the weather event was “unprecedented,” it could foretell the future. “We need to be thinking about it. ”
Besides thanking those involved in the snow clearance he apologized to residents for frustrations when systems like the Winter Storm Information Portal and 311 “…did not work as planned. This certainly led to some surprising outcomes.”
He concluded, “The County Executive demands us to get to the bottom of all these stories.”
Comments are closed.