WEM announces snow days make up plan

Beginning Monday, March 4, 2019 and continuing through Friday, April 26, 2019, the Win-E-Mac school will add 21 minutes to the school day. The school day will begin as usual and end at 3:28 p.m. 

Lunch and recess will not get any longer, just moved if needed slightly to match everything else.

March 22, 2018 will become a full student school day, and April 22, 2019 will become a regular school day. Even though this may disrupt some schedules, Win-E-Mac Superintendent states that this arrangement is the best option for students and parents.

If family members decide they would like to have their child picked up at the regular time, they can do so. The child will not be penalized for early dismissal. The Governor has said the state will not penalize districts for weather issues and local school districts should make those decisions for their district.

Here is a brief update from MSBA which came out of what we know about the possible intervention by the legislature and Governor regarding the impact of our winter weather. We have a state statute regarding hours and number of days a district must meet during a school year. 

The only way that those requirements can be changed is through legislative action which is then signed by the Governor. This has not happened yet. There have been some discussions with members of the legislature. In order to make this happen, the education committees will have to pass the bill and refer the bill to the floor of the respective body (House and Senate).

The state would need each body to pass the same bill and have the Governor sign it. Even if this process plays out, it will take time. The MSBA and Associations keep local school districts informed as the situation progresses. We have been told to make local decisions for our district. Because of the diversity of students, illness and absences the district needs to have time available for education before our state mandated MCA testing. Having school the end of May does not help the process.

I know this has been a challenging time, and thank you for your patience but we are working for the betterment of our students and staff we serve. We do not know what the rest of the winter will bring us beginning with Sunday into Monday. We have another system coming in next weekend and our worst month for snow will be the beginning of March.