Snow Days or Not, State Law Mandates schools in session 180 days a year

Kids love them, and districts hate them - snow days.

No district likes to call a snow day because it places a burden on parents and guardians to find last-minute child care, and it interrupts teaching and learning. But Mother Nature doesn't seem to care - especially this school year. Last month, snowfall amounts were above normal in the state's southern counties, causing several districts to close for a day. January is off to a mild start, but The Old Farmer's Almanac predicts the biggest snowstorm of the season will hit in late February, with other snowy periods in mid-February and early March.

As any Wisconsinite knows, it's na?ve to be specific when long-range forecasting winter weather. However, state law is very specific about the amount of time public schools must be in session each year – 180 days. Of these, five days may be used for parent-teacher conferences or for inclement weather. Teachers must also attend an additional 10 days or more for in-service training.

State Department of Public Instruction officials recommend districts find ways to schedule the required number of school hours within 175 days of instruction to avoid panic if there is a snow day. Each district has leeway to develop unique scheduling options to compensate for weather-related interuptions.

"If a district closes school and won't have enough days in to meet requirements, they need to make up the time," said Jerry Landmark, DPI School Financial Services assistant director. "They do this in a variety of ways. Some add on a day in June. Some take a day off their Easter break. It's up to them as long as they meet the requirement."

Official statewide snow day totals are not reported to DPI until after the school year concludes, thus are not yet available for this school year. However in 2004-2005, the majority of schools were closed one to three days due to inclement weather.

Transportation main variable in closing equation

In Milwaukee, as in most districts, the superintendent ultimately decides whether to close schools. "But just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a group of decision makers to close a school," said Roseann St. Aubin, director of communications and public affairs for Milwaukee Public Schools.

When heavy snow or dangerously frigid temperatures roll in overnight, Milwaukee Superintendent William Andrekopoulos starts communicating at about 4:30 a.m. with the Human Resources Department, the Transportation Department, as well as the school district's 13 contracted bus companies, the city's Department of Public Works and Milwaukee County Transit.

Andrekopoulos also contacts neighboring districts to find out their status. If the district is going to close for the day, the decision needs to be made by about 5:30 a.m. "There's really a tree of command with the superintendent taking advice and rendering the final decision," St. Aubin said. "But if the buses can roll, we're going to have school."

Although it's a mostly urban school, the district still has 42,000 students who ride yellow buses and 15,000 students who ride Milwaukee County Transit buses to school - a little more than half of its nearly 96,000 student body. Most routes to school travel maintained city streets and county roadways, and Milwaukee schools rarely close. The last time was nearly 10 years ago when schools closed districtwide on January 17, 1997, due to severe cold. The temperature dipped to 10 below with a wind chill of minus 30.

Smaller districts in rural communities must consider buses traveling on roadways that may be unplowed or covered with blowing and drifting snow when deciding whether to call a snow day. Some districts, such as Black River Falls, which runs about 30 buses over about 500 square miles, add extra days to the school year calendar to compensate for possible snow days.

"We have built-in snow days on the schedule to make sure we meet state requirements," said Nick Brylla, Black River Falls High School choral director and Black River Falls Education Association co-president. "And snow days are also built into our teaching contract."

This year, the district scheduled two extra days, called "student vacation days," above state requirements to compensate for possible snow days. If there is one snow day by March 17, then the first student vacation day is cancelled. If there isn't a snow day, students get March 17 off. There is a second student vacation day, set for April 18, that uses the same criteria.

Teachers are under contract to also get the student vacation days off if they aren't cancelled. If there are three snow days, teachers can come in if they are able or they have to make up the day at the end of the year in June. School days that start late or are released early due to inclement weather count as a full day.

Madison policy prohibits closing early

The Madison Metropolitan School District rarely closes because most roadways in the district are maintained, and the district will only close for extreme cold if the National Weather Service issues a wind chill warning of 50 degrees below zero or lower. The last time the district declared a snow day was in February 2001, due to snow.

Madison also has a written policy against dismissing its 25,000 students early "unless severe and immediate danger is probable."

District policy rules against closing early because of the large number of parents who work outside the home and have no child care arrangements available before the end of the school day. Superintendent Art Rainwater is also the ultimate authority in closing Madison schools; however, policy guidelines stress that parents make the final decision and can keep their children home or pick them up early if they believe that's best for the child's health and safety.

"For every family that is happy school is in session on days when the weather is bad, there is another family that feels schools should be closed," reads a letter Rainwater sent to parents last month. "In over 40 years in education, I find that the decision to open or close schools during inclement weather brings out some of the strongest community reactions - no matter which way we go."

Posted January 4, 2006