More winter weather could mean more closed schools

Another winter weather event is expected to blow through mid-Missouri over the weekend, creating the possibility of school districts canceling classes for the second week in a row.

Many schools in mid-Missouri canceled classes on Monday after areas received at least 15 inches of snow. The National Weather Service measured 16.9 inches at the Columbia Regional Airport over the weekend.

State law requires schools to schedule six make-up days in case of “inclement weather.” Many schools in mid-Missouri tack those days on at the end of the school calendar year.

If the schools don’t end up using the six days at the end of the year, then their year will end early for the summer.

If schools cancel more than six days because of inclement weather, then the districts make up every other day until the total of 10 days have been made up.

Columbia Public Schools have canceled two days during the 2018-2019 school year because of weather.

Jefferson City Public Schools have canceled one day.

Fulton Public Schools have used four days, but has allotted 10 weather days at the end of the calendar year.

Southern Boone, Moberly and Randolph R-IV school districts have used four weather days.

Sturgeon, North Callaway, Centralia, Hallsville, Boonville, Sturgeon, and Blackwater public school districts have used three inclement weather days.

New Bloomfield, Higbee R-VIII, Cooper County R-IV, Cole County R-V, and Blair Oaks public school districts have used two inclement weather days.

Cole County R-I, Moniteau R-I and Harrisburg R-VIII public school districts have canceled only one day due to inclement weather.

David Tramel, the coordinator of financial and administrative services for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said that how inclement weather affects school cancelations will be changing for the 2019-2020 school year because of changes made to state laws.

Schools won’t be reporting how many days will be in the school year and how many hours students will be at school.

Instead, schools will report the number of hours. Inclement weather days won’t technically exist. Schools will need to make up the number of hours missed, whether it be a full school-day worth of hours, or less.