If the state approves, Cheney Public Schools students won’t be losing a day of the summer vacation in order to make up for lost time this past winter.
At its March 22 meeting, the board of directors unanimously approved a request to the state’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction waiving one day from the mandated 180 days of public instruction to accommodate for missing four days due to bad weather. If accepted, the waiver would allow the district to maintain its current state funding levels, which would be threatened without the request.
Weather and accompanying bad road conditions forced the district to close schools on Jan. 9, Jan. 18-19 and Feb. 9. The district has made up one of those days already, Feb. 17, and has two more make up days scheduled for Thursday, June 15, and Friday, June 16.
In order to make up the fourth day, students would have had to come to school on Monday, June 19. The last day of school was scheduled for June 14, but will now be extended at least two more days.
In the letter to OSPI, the district states that unless the waiver is approved, Cheney’s school year would be extended “beyond WAC 392-129-105’s definition of ‘reasonable effort.’” District officials have determined that the “district-wide average total instruction hour offering required by law” will still be met without needing to extend school to June 19.
The district also noted Gov. Jay Inslee had issued an emergency proclamation during the Jan. 18-19 storm for a number of Eastern Washington counties, including Spokane. The district hopes this will enable it to waive one day of instruction.
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
Reader Comments(0)