RSD13 BOE Adjusts School Calendar Over Snow Days

The Region 13 Board of Education approved a plan Wednesday night to reduce the number of student days from 182 to 180, in an effort to ease the burden on the district which has been forced to schedule eight make-up snow days.

The move left the district with six snow days to make up, four of which had already been added to the end of the school calendar, from June 21-24.

The two remaining snow days will be made up on Friday, April 1 - a day previously scheduled for professional development for teachers - and April 18, previously the first day of the April recess.

Any additional make-up days will be added to the April recess.

Initially the district had looked at reducing the number of vacation days in February, but superintendent Susan Viccaro said a survey of staff members showed that 74 teachers (or teachers assistants) would not be available during the week. By contrast, 42 teachers planned to be absent during the April vacation period.

"We can't run the district without 50 teachers. There's no way," Viccaro said.

Board chairman Thomas Hennick explained that the state does not allow classes to be held on Saturday or Sunday, or on or after July 1. Hennick also told parents and board members that the state was not planning to reduce the number of required student days, despite the number of record snow days this winter.

"We got a letter form the state that adamantly said 'students must go to school for 180 days'," Hennick said. "Whatever decision we make, whatever way we go, someone's going to be unhappy."

Hennick told a crowd of about 40 parents that the district had been forced to deal with "unprecedented circumstances" this winter.

To that point, Viccaro said the district continues snow removal efforts.

"We're still not done. We were one of the first districts [removing snow] on Janurary 27. I'm incredibly proud of the effort that everyone made," she said, specifically giving credit to school custodians whose efforts she called "heroic."

Viccaro said to date this year crews had removed 5,000 tons of snow.