BATH
A mix of snow and rain has prompted local school officials to cancel classes. There was no school today for districts including Brunswick, St. John’s, Regional School Units 5, 2 and 1 and Maine School Administrative District 75.
Snow began to fall before dawn this morning. As of 6:30 a.m., the National Weather Service predicted snow turning to rain tonight in the Brunswick area. The NWS predicted that, inland, an accumulation of 8-12 inches of snow. However, the Associated Press reported that snow along the coast may be reduced to 1-2 inches after the rainfall, according to meteorologist James Brown.
Today’s closings come as local school districts are formulating ways to make up for lost days already incurred thanks to a late October wind storm.
RSU 1 Superintendent Patrick Manuel has sent out a letter to school families announcing the district’s plans to make up for lost school days.
“After talks at the administrative team and school board levels, a decision has been made to ensure time is recovered in a way that is the least disruptive to students and families,” said Manuel in the letter.
After a wind storm knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of Maine households and companies in late October, RSU 1 schools were left without electricity, causing cancellations for three consecutive days.
While the district opted to open the school for the remainder of the week to provide services to students who could attend, buses could not access all roads and absences were excused due to the circumstances. The RSU reported 85 percent attendance on its first day open after the storm.
The Maine Department of Education has stated that the time lost due to the power outages would have to be made up at some point, however. With snow days expected in the coming weeks, the district is moving forward with a proactive plan to make up for the lost days.
The first action the district is taking is to cancel its professional development day for teachers on Jan. 26 and instead conduct it on a regular school day.
The second action will be to cancel late start Wednesdays at a future date, depending on how many snow days the district experiences.
“While it is not ideal to cancel
LSW time, as it is important to teacher professional development for the sake of improving the experience of our students, it is also not ideal to be going to school too late in June,” said Manuel.
An adjusted LSW schedule will be available prior to April break, said Manuel.
Other districts are still weighing their options. SAD 75 — comprised of Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Harpswell and Topsham — released a survey for families and staff last week to help officials determine how to make up the lost days of school.
The district scheduled five school closing make-up days in its calendar, and already has five days to make up, thanks to the October storm.
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