Certainly the earthquake this afternoon was a surprise to everyone. I am thankful that this was not the first day of school for students. As a precaution, we have done a visual check of every school building during the last three hours. While there is some cracking in plaster and seams, there are no visible signs of structural damage, no reports of broken glass, and no indication of the compromise of any structure.

The one issue that we have discovered is a crack in the cover of the sidewalk near the entrance of Huntingtown High School. We have no reason to believe that the sidewalk cover is seriously damaged, but as a precaution we will not use the main entrance of HHS until we have a structural engineer examine the supporting masonry. The rest of HHS looks fine.

We will continue to be in close communication with the county emergency operations center and post updates if any are provided.

As of now school will open tomorrow as planned. We will continue to monitor the facilities and make any changes that are necessary for the safety and well-being of students and adults.

Take care,

Jack Smith

Jack Smith, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Calvert County Public Schools