When Collinsville Unit 10 Superintendent Bob Green decided to cancel school for Thursday, Jan. 23, he knew he would be forced to action.
Photo by Roger Starkey
The district’s Official School Calendar had seven emergency days built in for bad weather cancellations, two more than the legally required minimum and two more than many neighboring districts. Those seven days, however, have now been converted to student attendance days, making the last day of school May 28.
Because Thursday marked the eighth day this academic year that school was cancelled, the district must now apply for an Act of God exception, hold school on a day previously designated as a non-attendance day or extend the school year beyond May 28.
Each option would be an adjustment to the Official School Calendar and will require approval from the Unit 10 School Board, the Regional Office of Education and the Illinois State Board of Education. Adjustments to the calendar to modify attendance days may also require approval from the unions, Green said, but more research needs to be completed.
Some area districts have already applied for Act of God exceptions. Green said he will discuss this option with the School Board at their regularly scheduled meeting Monday, as well as with the Regional Office of Education and the State Board.
“If it’s just one day, I’m leaning toward applying for an Act of God exception,” Green said. The district has 30 days from Thursday to apply for the exception.
With more harsh weather likely this winter – typical snow accumulation is 4.3 inches in February and 2.3 inches in March – this may not be last time Green has to make a similar decision. State law requires 176 days of student attendance, unless an exception is approved. If an Act of God exception is approved for Thursday, Unit 10 will be on pace for 175 days of attendance.
Green’s preference is for students to be in school as much as possible, he said. “The research is there that kids with good attendance and with the number of days, do better,” Green said.
The need to adjust the school calendar will not change how Green makes decisions about future snow days. Area superintendents speak to each other informally when determining if school should be cancelled, Green said. Student safety is their primary concern.
“We all want to look out for the safety of kids,” Green said. “That’s our first obligation.”
Most Metro East schools closed Thursday due to concerns about cold weather. Green said the decision was about student safety. “We get these extreme temperatures that we are not used to, we put the students out in the cold for a length of time, and bad things happen,” Green said.
The decision prompted numerous social media posts claiming residents of northern states are having a good laugh at the thin skin of those in St. Louis area. However, the Minneapolis and St. Paul public school systems were also closed Thursday due to concerns about extreme cold temperatures.
