To the relief of parents everywhere, students in Suffolk Public Schools will go back to school this Thursday, albeit with a two-hour delay.

Having had a full week off school, only two days following the holiday break, and with only two days to go before they get another three-day weekend, it’s probably fair to say parents and kids have been a little stir-crazy with all of the unstructured time off.

However, Suffolk Public Schools absolutely made the right decision when it opted to keep schools closed until Thursday.

Many back roads and neighborhood roads remained hidden under a sheet of packed snow and ice, and black ice was a concern for Wednesday morning after a day of melting and then freezing temperatures.

But the precipitation remaining on the actual roads wasn’t the only consideration. Students walking to bus stops and waiting there was a concern because of icy pavement, impassable sidewalks and snow piled on the shoulders of roads. Some school campuses may also have been unsafe without the benefit of additional melting.

The School Board will discuss makeup days during its Thursday meeting. Whatever the plan turns out to be, it’s likely to inconvenience some and not to make everybody happy. But everyone should remember it’s a lot better plan than the potential alternative. Getting 14,000 young people to school with this week’s road conditions was an extraordinarily dangerous proposition, and we’re glad the schools recognized that keeping students safe should be their highest priority.