Montgomery County, TN – All Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) schools will be closed tomorrow Friday, February 6th.
School-based employees do not report on these days, as they are inclement weather stockpile days. District offices will be open. As a reminder from yesterday, with the approved waiver, we had 3 stockpile days left. After tomorrow and Friday, we will have 1 day left. We do not need to implement our make-up plan at this time.
Progress – Where is the optimism from yesterday’s message?
Although the rain yesterday was lighter than forecasted, when mixed with 40-degree temperatures, crews were able to more easily break through the thick ice. As crews continued working last night and early this morning, the sub-freezing temperatures refroze the ice, slowing progress. You may have experienced this refreezing at your own home yesterday. While uncleared spots had more traction yesterday, the overnight freezing temperatures refroze the spaces, leaving slick, hazardous ice.
To our employees, we sincerely apologize for the late notice you received this morning regarding the change in a PD Day, and we appreciate your flexibility and understanding. We had to pivot early this morning and make the PD Day remote because parking lots at many schools were not at the projected clearing point to bring our nearly 6,000 employees back, even with a delay.
A lack of sun, high temperatures barely above freezing, and lows in the teens tonight are not going to help very much this week. Bus drivers checked buses and ran routes today. While the majority of roads have been cleared, there are still areas that the city, county, and contractors are continuing to address. Therefore, our plan to reopen this week is neither safe nor feasible, and we wanted to give families advance notice for Friday.
Please know we hear the concerns from families about the impact of this extended closure. CMCSS leadership feels the pressure and is focused on reopening as soon as possible. We share your disappointment and frustration about the impact this weather has caused. At the same time, we are deeply grateful for our crews who continue to work hard in these unprecedented circumstances. They are experienced in snow removal, but as we have shared, this is a completely different scenario. Please continue to show your appreciation for everyone helping to clear our campuses. We are again receiving additional support from city and county government agencies, and we appreciate having their great crews and heavy equipment supporting our efforts.
Everyone is focused on what is in front of us today, and we will continue working. However, to end the progress section on a positive note, a reminder that the forecast shows a significant thaw is coming next week. This has been a tough two weeks, but brighter, warmer days are ahead for CMCSS and neighboring school systems and communities.
We will continue to express our heartfelt appreciation to our students, families, and the community. Thank you for the patience, support, and understanding you have shown. We’ve seen so many examples of kindness, like families bringing coffee to crews at schools, and the community has shown tremendous love for our employees on social media. Like we shared last week, this is the most impactful winter storm in our community and region since 1994.
In just the past 3 years, Clarksville-Montgomery County has been hit by a devastating tornado, several floods, and now a significant winter storm. One thing that remains true about our community is that we come together and take care of one another.
Our sincere appreciation to our crews who have been working tirelessly to clear campuses, make building repairs, and do other behind-the-scenes work to get us ready to come back to school. After a week of long days for highway and road crews clearing hundreds of streets across the community, they stepped up to help us on our campuses. Thank you, Clarksville-Montgomery County, and please, no more snow dances this year. Please.
