Q: With a shorter school year, will Manhattan-Ogden schools have to make up any snow days so far?
A: Several area school districts canceled or postponed classes Wednesday as a winter storm moved through the area, but Manhattan saw mostly wet but not slick weather, so the Manhattan-Ogden district didn’t cancel.
The district has canceled three days for weather and had one early release day earlier this month. Eric Reid, assistant superintendent, said the district builds three snow days into its academic calendar each year, but the district is typically ahead of the minimum amount of school time set by the state. Last year, the district had four snow days and didn’t need to adjust its schedule.
At this point, the district doesn’t need to add any snow days to the end of the year, but that could change with several weeks of winter weather still remaining.
“I will start looking closer at our timing and determine if we can stay within state requirements should we have additional weather dismissal days,” Reid said.
If that turns out to be the case, Reid said he will notify the school board of any additional days.
The school year is shorter and the school days are longer this year to help with the district’s construction schedule as it works through $129.5 million in bond projects. Construction crews typically benefit from longer school summer vacations.
Reid said the district will likely continue with a shortened calendar for another two or three years, while construction wraps up.
To submit a question, send by email to questions@themercury.com, or by regular mail to Questions, P.O. Box 787 Manhattan, KS 66505.
