School accepts
seven days from
state for ice storm

By Mary Garrison
Tribune-Courier Reporter
mgarrison@tribunecourier.com

DRAFFENVILLE – It’s been the buzz in the county for weeks. However, after much speculation, the last day of school and Marshall County High School’s graduation ceremony date have been set for May 22.

January’s ice storm left some citizens around the county without power for nearly a month and kept Marshall County schools closed for nine days.

It was a record year for school dismissal due to inclement weather. In September, students missed due to power outage in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, and in December, snow and ice kept kids from the classroom for three more days. In all, students were absent for 13 days of the regularly scheduled school year.

It was a problem not isolated to Marshall County, thus prompting Kentucky State Representative Mike Cherry to introduce a bill to the Kentucky General Assembly that would waive up to 10 days for school districts affected by the storm.

Traditionally, state law requires 177 six-hour days of class each academic year. Under state policy, districts that miss fewer than 20 days must make them up or add time to each school day. By this standard, Marshall County schools would have remained in session until June 4.

The bill passed through the General Assembly, and Gov. Steve Beshear signed it into action. However, there were certain stipulations. School systems must apply to the Kentucky Department of Education for consideration of the waiver, and each school district must first exhaust all make-up days before a waiver can be granted.

For each school calendar, school systems are asked to build in make-up days for extenuating circumstances.

“We have to look at the most days we’ve missed over the previous five years and build them into the calendar,” Marshall County Superintendent Trent Lovett said. “We had four days allotted for this year.”

Marshall students attended classes through two days in March, originally scheduled as professional development days. Two early-dismissal days were also extended into regular session, leaving the school one day to tack on at the end of the school year.

At the March meeting of the Marshall County School Board, Gov. Beshear had yet to sign the bill that would allow schools to waive the additional days incurred due to the ice storm, thus leaving school officials with their hands tied. At the time, Lovett had recommended upon signing the system accept five days, putting the end of the school year May 27 and MCHS graduation on May 29.

“We had asked for an extension of the testing window, which ends on May 22,” Lovett said. “Accepting five days was just sort of an arbitrary figure, and would have put us going to class for just two days of the following week.

“After the school board meeting, some of the members spoke with their constituents and they questioned what the point of attending those two days of the week would serve. So, we opted to accept seven days and end classes on May 22.”

Many of the surrounding districts are not so lucky. Marshall County Director of Pupil Personnel Ledonia Williamson said Calloway, McCracken and Graves Counties will have students attending into June.

“We all feel like it’s kind of silly to have to build make-up days into the calendar,” Williamson said. “If we miss them, of course we’re going to have to make them up.

“Well, they just randomly added 10 days onto their calendars as those make up days,” Williamson continued. “We never anticipated something like this.”

Because those 10 days were added at the end of their approved calendars, the state cannot grant the waiver, without students having first exhausted their make-up days. Marshall County teachers will continue to make up days after students have dismissed for the year. Official school closing date is June 4.