Superintendent: School Closings Concerning But Necessary

Using five emergency closing days this week was less than ideal but there was really no choice, Superintendent of Schools Kevin Case said.

With little power back on in town, not knowing when it would be restored and the number of downed trees, wires and other factors, the logistics of opening were up in the air. There is also the issue of safety and while most roads are fully open it is unlikely buses could access all areas. 

With all those factors it was better to cancel for the week give people more flexibility and time to plan, Case said. 

“I wanted families to be able to plan for the rest of the week,” he said.

The five days this week will already bring the closing days to six before winter even starts. If closings exceed seven days, any additional ones will be taken from spring recess, beginning April 16, according to Board of Education policy. But with winter still ahead, it may be time to at least discuss some potential options, Case said,

“It is concerning,” Case said. “The Board of Education and I will have a good look at the calendar.”

Canton schedules 183 days of school while the state requires 180. That leaves some leeway but the state generally wants vacation days to be used up before considering other actions. It would be very unlikely to see the state lower the requirement, Case said.

“They’re very hesitant to do that,” Case said.

The issue did come up last school year in some towns. 

A January 2011 letter to superintendents from then acting Connecticut State Department of Education commissioner George A. Coleman stated that "Connecticut law allows for the SBE to authorize boards of education to modify the school calendar to have fewer than 180 days of school due to 'unavoidable emergency.' Please be advised that school closures due to inclement weather generally will not constitute unavoidable emergencies."

The letter does list other options such as holding school on legal holidays other than in December or January and "offering nonsectarian educational program in observance of such holiday," or adding more days before June 30 to make up the time.

For this year in Canton, the tentative last day was June 8, with June 19 being the last day if seven emergency closing days are used. More than that would result in the lost vacation time. If all Spring Recess days were used, the board would have to look into other options

Case said there have been no other storm-related issues at the schools. The buildings have fared OK during and after the power went out food that would have gone bad was used at the town’s emergency shelter.