BOARD OF EDUCATION OF HARFORD COUNTY Study of Proposed North Harford Zone April 28, 2008

Background Information: A number of years ago, Baltimore County recognized that north of Shawan Road, from the Mt. Carmel exit to the Pennsylvania line; temperatures were lower and precipitation higher. T h i s w a s t h e b i r t h o f t h e H e r e f o r d Z o n e .A t t h a t t i m e , t h i s a c t i o n h a d a m i n i m a l i m p a c t t o t h e rest of the county. Nearly all of the students in the Hereford High School attendance area attended common feeder schools and rode common buses. This is not the case today and as a r e s u l t , t h ec u r r e n t H e r e f o r dZ o n e i sn o t w i t h o u t i t sp r o b l e m s . I t h a sb e e ns u g g e s t e dt h a t H a r f o r dC o u n t ye s t a b l i s ha N o r t hH a r f o r dZ o n e ( Z o n e ) t og e n e r a t ea d d i t i o n a l f l e x i b i l i t yt o closing, delaying the opening or calling for an early dismissal due to inclement weather in the North Harford area. Discussion: Wh e nd e t e r m i n i n gt h en e e df o re s t a b l i s h i n g a N o r t hH a r f o r dZ o n e , s i m i l a rt oa H e r e f o r dZ o n e i nB a l t i m o r eC o u n t y , t h r e ea s p e c t sm u s tb ec o n s i d e r e d ;t h eb e n e f i t s , t h e d r a w b a c k s , a n d t h e o v e r a l l i m p a c t t o s t u d e n t s e d u c a t i o n . The North Harford High School/Middle School attendance area encompasses nearly 39% of the geographic area of the county. There are 56 buses that transport their high school and middle school students. Of these 56 buses, only 44 service the North Harford area elementary schools with 12 providing transportation for other area schools. Factors which affect weather conditions in a given location are elevation, temperature, and precipitation. The following elevation levels comprise the total North Harford attendance area: ELEVATION LEVELS (in feet) SCHOOL LOW HIGH MEDIAN DISTRICT ELEV. ELEV. ELEV. DARLINGTON 5 445 225 DUBLIN 75 490 283 JARRETTSVILLE 390 755 573 NORRISVILLE 370 790 580 NORTH BEND 215 730 473 NORTH HARFORD 110 805 458 In comparison, the Hereford Zone boasts its highest elevation, in Freeland, at 680 feet above sea level.

Page 2 Study of Proposed North Harford Zone April 28, 2008 A thirty year average snowfall study shows that Harford County ranged from 13 inches in the southern coastline portion of the county to a progressive increase of an average in the midtwenties in the northern portion. The Hereford Zone averaged 35 inches of snow. The temperature, as recorded in Harford County, for the past few months has been without consistency. The North Harford areas are usually the coldest with the temperatures differing, from other parts of the County, on the average a mere 2 degrees F. T h e b e n e f i t i ne s t a b l i s h i n ga N o r t hH a r f o r dZ o n e w o u l db e t og r a n t f l e x i b i l i t yt ot h e Superintendent in closing or delaying the opening of school on a day in which weather is a concern, only in the North Harford area. This has not been a major issue, in that any time there was a need to alter the school day because of weather in the northern part of the county, it was mirrored by weather or forecast in the other portions of the county as well. What has been raised as a compelling argument for the implementation o f t h e z o n e is the public outcry when a flash freeze occurs (usually at sunrise) in the northern area or when an unforcasted weather event presents itself without warning. Establishment of a separate zone would not mitigate these issues once school buses have begun rolling. The procedure, which has been put into place when this occurs, is to find a safe location and pull over to the side of the road and wait until it is safe to p r o c e e d . Wi t ho r w i t h o u t as e p a r a t e z o n e , this procedure would remain the same in these situations. With the evolution of magnet schools in Baltimore County and the tremendous increase of both in-and-out-of-county special needs schools, the Hereford Zone closures or delayed openings have resulted in many more students being granted excused absences from their c l a s s e s , a s w e l l a s s o m e b e i n g d e p r i v e d o f s e r v i c e r e q u i r e d i n t h e i r I E P s .B a l t i m o r e C o u n t y d i d offer compensatory time for services missed, and thereby avoided claims for compensatory damages. There are currently many complaints from parents of children who do not live in the H e r e f o r d Z o n e , b u t a r e a f f e c t e d b y t h e s e c l o s u r e s o r d e l a y s .I f a s t u d e n t t r a v e l s o n a z o n e b u s but attends a school that is out of the affected area, that student would be pulled from their class, r e g a r d l e s so f w h a t i so c c u r r i n gi nt h e i r a c a d e m i ce n v i r o n m e n t i f a z o n e e a r l yd i s m i s s a l i s declared. Every bus that travels through the Hereford Zone must comply with the decision to close, delay or have an early dismissal during the school day. As of March 1, 2008, Harford County routes 19 special needs buses through the proposed North Harford z o n e , servicing 24 schools (16 of which are not in the area) and transporting 123 students. In addition, approximately 120 students attending Harford Technical High School or The Science Math A c a d e m y l i v e i n t h e z o n e a r e a . Where this separate zone concept becomes even more difficult to implement is for those contractors whose garages are in the northern area of the county. When a delay or closing is imposed, all of their buses must comply, regardless of the area that they are servicing. In Harford County, currently, this would affect 9 contractors, with a combined fleet of 125 buses,

s e r v i c i n g n e a r l y e v e r y s c h o o l i n t h e c o u n t y m o s t o f w h i c h a r e n o t w i t h i n t h e z o n e a r e a . Page 3 Study of Proposed North Harford Zone April 28, 2008 S u p e r i n t e n d e n t s R e c o mme n d a t i o n : The Superintendent of Schools recommends t h a t w e n o t c r e a t e a N o r t h H a r f o r d Z o n e t o simply provide an additional level of flexibility. The drawbacks and problems that would be caused to all of the students affected, especially to their learning environment would outweigh any potential benefit. It must always be understood that safety will never be compromised; regardless of which course of action is implemented.