Students throughout area can expect to lose spring vacation time because of snow days

They tried to make it, but the weather just wouldn't cooperate.

The Perry County School District in Perryville, Mo., was again forced to cancel classes Wednesday, but this time the school day had already begun.

"We came in at 8 a.m. and we had to turn around and dismiss at 9:30 a.m.," superintendent Kevin Dunn said.

The first flakes hadn't started to fall until just about the time the school bell rang. Within an hour, blowing snow was making Perry County roads treacherous.

"You can't call [school] on a forecast," Dunn said of the weather quandary he faced Wednesday morning.

This winter has been tough on Perry County education. Wednesday marked the eighth day the district has had to cancel classes. Perry County schools canceled class today, too. Under the state's minimum attendance mandate, the Perryville School District will make up seven snow days.

Another wintry mess forced a flood of school cancellations and early dismissals Wednesday, and students throughout Southeast Missouri can expect to lose some spring vacation time, at least, to make up for those snow days.

While public schools in Cape Girardeau and Jackson were in session during the snow this week, both districts have canceled school multiple times this winter.

The Jackson School District has used three snow days this winter. By Missouri law, school districts build days into their school calendars to make up for days lost to inclement weather -- or whatever else. As it stands, Jackson students will make up one snow day in March and two more during the Easter break in April.

The Cape Girardeau School District has called three snow days so far. Those days will be made up on spring break, April 20, 21 and 26. If the district misses more days, they will be made up April 25, May 20 and May 23.

Snow days will cost Perryville most of its Easter break, Dunn said, and students are looking at an extra week of classes in May, although the new schedule has yet to be finalized. With more winter to go, and the way things have been going, Dunn isn't putting any ink on that updated calendar just yet.

If there's a silver lining to this constant snow cloud over Perry County, it's that the district is getting close to the state "forgiveness" threshold.

Missouri school districts with five-day school weeks are required to hold classes a minimum of 174 days per year, with 1,044 hours of actual pupil attendance. The school calendar includes six makeup days, plus half of additional days lost, up to a total of 10 makeup days, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The remainder of the days and hours lost may be forgiven under the state's "inclement weather forgiveness" rule.

The snow day dilemma, however, is becoming an issue of academics. Schools are missing out on important instruction time, just as students prepare for the Missouri Assessment Program tests -- examinations that, by No Child Left Behind standards, define the success or failure of a school district.

"We'd rather have instructional days in February when we prepare for the state test than in May after the state test," Dunn said.

Bleau Deckerd, superintendent of the Altenburg School District, considers his school system lucky on the snow day front. Classes have been canceled four times this winter. On Wednesday, school was dismissed at 10:30 a.m., but that was long enough to count as a full day under state rules.

Right now, the district is looking at making up those snow days on Presidents Day and during spring break.

Deckerd said he's mindful of the effect canceling classes has on parents' schedules, but there's a greater consideration.

"A good rule of thumb when I first became an administrator is to just err on side of caution and make sure the children are safe," he said.

mkittle@semissourian.com

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