REDMOND, OR -- Winter is just getting started, but local students have already enjoyed several snow days. Redmond Students got a few extra days of winter break when a massive snowstorm canceled several days of class. But, as they prepare to return to class, Superintendent Mike McIntosh is hoping the forecast will stay favorable.
McIntosh tells KBND News so far they don't have to make up any lost days. "We’re required by the state of Oregon to have our high school students in session for 990 hours; our elementary folks for the most part are around 900. So, what we’re expected to do is have kids in school. What we have is a calendar that has more hours than that. So, at this point, we’ve cut three days and do not have to make them up; we have enough hours not to be below that minimum. But there are not very many left." But, he acknowledges we've got a lot of winter still to go. "We don’t normally get days in November, December; most of our days off come in January and February. So, we’re going to cross our fingers and hold our breath. We build a calendar hoping that we get students in class a lot of time and make up for those times when snow is not going to be an issue."
If the district does decide to make up days, McIntosh says he wants to avoid adding to the end of the school year. "Graduation dates are set, last day of school is set, family vacations are set. So, tacking on days in June is difficult without a lot of warning. We will do our best to warn folks when we need to make up those days and when they will be."
