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| Some County School Districts Getting Close to Allotted Number of Snow Days February 08, 2019 08:30 p.m. By: Nick Altmire |
so far this winter, school districts throughout the county have faced some tough decisions when it comes to being able to safely transport area children to and from school. While the safety of the children is always the top priority, some districts are getting close to their allotted number of emergency snow days. We reached out to each of the county's five school district superintendents to see where each district stands with their remaining number of snow days. New York State requires each district to be in session 180 days each year, with district's building a number of emergency days into their calendars at their discretion. Lowville Academy & Central School had the fewest number of emergency days allocated among county districts, but has used the most. Of the six emergency days available, the district has used five, leaving just one remaining. Superintendent Cheryl Steckly said that although it is concerning that the district has needed to use most of their snow days so early in the year, there are a number of options if that number is exceeded. "Our students had a shorter Christmas break than some area schools, with our district scheduling the Friday before Memorial Day and the Monday after Easter as vacation days instead," Mrs. Steckly said. "If we do exceed our allotted number of snow days, we would likely pull from those days first before looking at our spring break." The Lowville district, serving the most students in the county, has some circumstances to contend with that others don't. With a portion of the Tug Hill located within the district, there are times when the weather in the village may be fine but conditions on Tug Hill can be completely different, Mrs. Steckley said, noting that the district must take the safety of transporting all students into consideration when making their decisions. The district also has a higher number of students that walk to school, compared to other districts in the county. The safety of those students getting to school must be considered as well. Both Beaver River and Copenhagen have used four of the seven emergency snow days they have allotted for the year. Beaver River superintendent Todd Green said that the district typically starts with spring break if the allocated number of snow days is exceeded. Copenhagen superintendent Scott Connell tells us that there has not been a decision made at this time where days would be added if the allotted number of snow days is exceeded. Harrisville superintendent Rob Finster said his district has used three of the seven days allotted, also noting that the crazy weather has forced the district to close early four times and delay opening three times. South Lewis seems to be in the best shape, with superintendent Douglas Premo telling us the district has used two of the seven snow days allocated. He is hopeful the district will not exceed their number of allotted snow days, with five remaining. One thing is for sure, local school districts are all hoping for an early spring! |
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