By Brad Johnson
Register-Herald Reporter
BECKLEY — The Raleigh County Board of Education approved school calendar changes Tuesday that will allow the county to make up eight of the 17 school days missed due to weather conditions so far this winter.
“We’re doing the best we can” to make up the days, board president Richard Snuffer said, pointing out the county has to work within state law guidelines.
In addition to the 17 full days missed, Raleigh schools have had 11 two-hour delays this school year and three early dismissals. “It’s been a winter,” Superintendent Charlotte Hutchens said with a rueful chuckle.
Raleigh students attended school Monday on what was to have been an accrued instructional time day during which staff would have worked but students would not have had school.
Students will also now attend school on April 2, which was to have been an instructional support and enhancement day off for them, although there will now be a two-hour early dismissal that day for a faculty senate meeting. On May 14, which was to have been another accrued day, students will receive a full day of instruction.
Under the calendar changes, students will also have full days of instruction on June 2, 3, 4 and 7, which were all originally scheduled as outside school environment days, when schools would have been closed for both students and staff.
On June 8, which state law mandates as the last possible day for students this school year, there will be a two-hour early dismissal for faculty senate meetings. Under the calendar changes, June 9 will be the last day for school employees this school year.
Snuffer said he had spent 90 minutes last Friday touring the construction site of the new Fairdale Elementary School.
“It looks good,” he said. “It’s getting real close to being a school. Saying that, we still have some major issues to attend to,” including some problems in the kitchen, such as some appliances which need to be changed. However, Snuffer said carpeting has been put down and furnishings installed, and he said he was impressed with the progress being made.
“We are hoping to expediate as fast as possible the demolition of the old school,” he said. “I would like to say that, as soon as the new school is done, we’ll start tearing down the old school. We’ll get a contract out, get the bid, and you know, when we start school next fall, that school should be gone, out of the way.”
Snuffer said an agreement had been reached with an adjoining landowner that would allow some refuse from the construction site to be buried on the landowner’s property.
“We won’t have to haul any of that stuff off site,” he said. “That’s a good deal that will save us some money.”
— E-mail: bjohnson@register-herald.com
