MISSED DAYS TO BE MADE UP; SCHOOLS BUILD SNOW DAYS INTO CALENDARS

Children cheering a snow-prompted vacation last week may not cheer for long; those days will be made up one way or another.

For most it means a shorter spring or Easter vacation, or later last day of school.

The state requires school districts to plan how to make up days missed because of bad weather.

Some build snow days into the calendar by scheduling, for example, 180 school days when the state requires the district be in session just 174. Six days are built into that calendar.

Others take days away from planned vacations and holidays, most often Easter or spring break; others add additional days to the end of the school year.

School officials said they have been lucky for several years because winter weather has been mild.

Last week's storm came during a week already one day short because of the Presidents' Day holiday.

Cape Girardeau schools missed just one day of school, Tuesday, due to the snow.

"Basically, we know when we are not making up snow days during the Easter break," said Superintendent Neyland Clark. "We will meet with teachers and decide the best way to make up the days we have missed."

Clark said the days could be made up at the end of the school year. "That seems to be the most popular solution right now," he said.

But additional snow days could change the plans.

Clark said he expects the decision will be made after the threat of bad weather passes.

Clark said Cape Girardeau schools are fortunate because the city's street department did a good job of clearing city streets during last week's snow.

"That's a luxury we have that many other district don't have," he said. "And when we think we can safely get the kids to school we will have classes."

Jackson students missed three days last week, said Fred Jones, assistant superintendent. In January students missed two days.

The district builds four days into its schedule. If the snow days are not needed, students get out of school earlier in the spring. If more than four days are missed, additional days are tacked on the end of the school year.

Jones said the end of school is now projected for May 28.

Clearing snow and ice from rural routes often takes much longer than from city streets. Jackson is one of the state's largest districts, covering 500 square miles. Each day between 2,700 and 2,800 students are transported by bus.

"We have over 2,000 miles of bus routes every day that we travel, and many of those are gravel and country roads," Jones said. "We may have a pretty easy time getting around in town, but that doesn't mean we can have school. Our buses run out to New Wells and to the Bollinger County line.

"Our policy is that if we have a marginal situation we try to err on the side of safety."

Easter vacation for students at Chaffee schools will be shortened thanks to the snow storm, said Superintendent Wayne Pressley. School was canceled two days because of the bad weather.

Students at Meadow Heights School in Bollinger County missed a whole week of school last week.

Tom Waller, superintendent at Meadow Heights, said the district plans for snow days by knowing when the days will be made up. "Plans were for up to six days to be added at the end of the school year," Waller said. Classes have been canceled six days so far.

"Now, if we have more days, we will get into the Easter vacation," he said.

Waller estimated that 80 percent of the district's bus routes are on gravel roads. He said: "There is not a bus route we have that doesn't go on gravel roads. And some places the sun doesn't hit. It's tough to melt. Saturday really made a difference for us. We might not have been in school (Monday)."

Delta's weather-related problems have been compounded by structure-related problems, said Superintendent Larry Beshears.

"We missed all last week, four days," he said. "And we missed another due to bad weather. Plus we missed two days with the bricks falling down." He was referring to bricks that fell from one of the schools because of old age.

Two days have been taken from the planned Easter break and a week added to the end of the school year to make up the days.

"Students may not cheer quite as much when they learn that," Beshears said.