Schools plan Saturday make-up
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on February 26, 2015 1:46 PM
Wayne County dodged a bullet overnight as snow skipped the area, but school officials must still make up for six snow days over the past two weeks.
They have already announced the first makeup day -- Saturday.
Predictions of another storm forced Wayne County Public Schools and other school systems to call off classes today.
The district had already lost four days last week due to freezing temperatures and icy roadways.
Officials closely monitored the forecasts and stayed in touch with emergency services agencies, said Ken Derksen, director of communication services for the district.
In addition to dangerous road conditions, single-digit temperatures and wind chills last week played a big role in the cancellations, Derksen said.
At one point, meteorologists had predicted the possibility of a "minus one-degree wind chill" in the early morning hours, when buses would be hitting the roadways. Some drivers head out as early as 5:30 a.m., with children standing outside at bus stops soon after.
This week, Tuesday morning's unexpected weather shift and snowfall sent officials scrambling to send students and staff home only a couple hours after the day began.
Fortunately, that was not counted on the list of snow days, Dr. Sandra McCullen, interim superintendent, said today.
"Tuesday counts as a day, so we don't have to make that up," she said. "As long as the buses have left, it counts as a day."
The snow accumulation and potential icy roads caused classes to be again canceled on Wednesday.
When forecasters presented scenarios of more snow and possible icy conditions overnight and into this morning, officials made the decision Wednesday evening to again close school for students and staff.
Before they could make a decision about where make-up days would be pulled for the previous four days, they now have an additional three days to replenish.
In the meantime, the district announced its first make-up day will be on Saturday. All schools will operate on an early-release schedule.
"The reason for that is it's the only Saturday that we have to make it up until May 30," Mrs. McCullen explained. "You can't go to school six days a week. Every other week has five days in it."
While it might appear that Wayne County escaped the treacherous conditions faced by other areas, that is not entirely true, she said.
"From my understanding I have gotten reports that areas like Eureka have icy roads," she said. "There are still parts of our area that did receive that.
"When you look at how we're positioned in the state, we're getting it from both ways."
She said an announcement about the remaining make-up days will be made soon. Those days will likely be gleaned through early dismissal options and other days that are already available on the school calendar, she said.
"We're trying to preserve Easter vacation," she said.