With last year’s record number of snow days still fresh in their minds, the Highland school board Monday night questioned whether the district’s proposed calendar for next year had a …
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With last year’s record number of snow days still fresh in their minds, the Highland school board Monday night questioned whether the district’s proposed calendar for next year had a sufficient number of days designated to make up for any snow days that may arise.
The biggest discussion centered around the holiday for Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and if it should be designated as a snow day makeup if needed.
“I’m concerned that we don’t have more snow days built in,” board member Rachel Longbine said, suggesting that the King birthday holiday be considered for making up any snow days taken early in the year.
“I’d just like the insurance,” board member Megan Allen said. “I would rather have built in snow days.”
In the end, the board approved the calendar suggested by a committee of teachers and administrators. That calendar has two days reserved for snow day makeups, March 5 and April 1.
The calendar for the 2020-2021 year calls for school to start on Monday, Aug. 24, and end on Tuesday, May 25, the week before Memorial Day weekend.
There is no designated spring break, although the Thursday and Friday before Easter and the Monday after Easter are marked as days off with the Thursday designated as a snow day makeup.
March 5, a Friday, is the other day off that could be used as a snow makeup day.
The board discussed being able to use the three days after the last day of school as snow makeup days if necessary. Those three days would still come before the Memorial Day weekend.
A big part of the discussion was the controversy in the Clear Creek-Amana district this year when students went to class on Martin Luther King’s birthday.
“The calendar committee was very cognizant of the Clear Creek-Amana situation,” Superintendent Ken Crawford said.
“People didn’t want the chance of all that negativity … four our district,” elementary school Principal Jane O’Leary said.
The board approved the calendar as presented on a 7-0 vote. No one from the public spoke at the public hearing on the topic.
Longbine suggested that next year’s calendar committee include a school board representative.
