Kids in the Kent School District may be loving their days off now, but come June, it will mean two more days in classrooms before summer vacation can begin.
According to District Communications Director Becky Hanks, the district did not plan for any snow days in its 2008-2009 calendar, which means the two days off – Dec. 18 and 19 – will have to be made up in the spring, as called for on the district’s official calendar.
“They’ll be adding those on to the end of the year,” Hanks said Friday.
Originally, June 19 was scheduled as the last day of school, but an additional week was left before graduation on June 27 and designated for make-up time.
The two snow days this past week mean classes will end Tuesday, June 23.
“When June comes, (students) aren’t going to be happy,” Hanks said, adding “but from a safety standpoint there’s no question (but to close.)”
Hanks said the decision to call a snow day comes after a 4 a.m. check of road conditions by Transportation Director Don Walkup and four other staff members. Hanks said the five employees check different locations among the district’s 72 square miles of territory, which stretches from the West Hill near Highway 99 out to Covington.
Hanks said the staff members not only check road conditions, but also watch to see how other drivers are handling the weather. Even if the buses, many of which get chains on their tires, can get through the snow, other drivers may present a problem to the safety of students.
Bus drivers also practice snow driving by heading out to Snoqualmie Pass during a workshop day in January.
Hanks said after the road check, Walkup discusses the situation with Superintendent Barbara Grohe, who makes the final decision.
Part of the challenge in deciding a snow day is the differing terrain and elevation in a district the size of Kent. According to Hanks, even during this storm, conditions varied from a minimal amount of snow on West Hill to a much larger amount out in Covington near Sawyer Woods Elementary.
Hanks said because of the variance, the district often gets questions about why or why not the decision to close school was made or why the district can’t open some schools and close others.
Hanks said bus routes encompass the entire district and the district has several teachers and staff members that switch between schools, making it easier to close or open the district as a whole.
Winter break began Dec. 22. Classes are scheduled to resume Jan. 5.
Weather permitting, of course.
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