School canceled, will resume Jan. 9

School+canceled%2C+will+resume+Jan.+9

Bridget Protsman and lakecentralnews

School has been cancelled for Jan. 7 and 8, and will resume Jan. 9.

“Mr. [Al] Gandolfi, [Assistant Superintendent], Mr. [Bill] Ledyard, [Director of Facilities], and I drove the corporation this morning and saw very icy roads, even the main arteries like the intersection of 30 and 41 have snow and ice and this caused us to err on the side of safety for students and staff,” Dr. Larry Veracco, Superintendent, said.

The road conditions are not the only reason school has been cancelled for not one, but two days, or for teachers, three.

“Additionally, we are experiencing some mechanical issues with buses that the extra day will allow us to overcome and be at full strength by Thursday,” Dr. Veracco said.

Both the Corporation and the local police department have decided that students should not risk being out in this weather, especially with the current road conditions.

“We will seek a waiver from the state this week in order to avoid making up the two student instructional days. Barring any additional weather, we will begin the second semester on Thursday and as mentioned before, if the Department of Education grants the waiver, the school year will end as scheduled,” Dr. Veracco said.

Other than having to obtain the waiver from the Department of Education, slight changes are being made to the new semester.

“Final first semester grades have been pushed back by one full week. We are reluctant to delay or cancel school as it places a burden on many families. However, we also take great care prior to putting buses, student drivers and staff members on roads. Currently we feel there is an above average chance of problems due to driving conditions, so we chose to wait one more day before having everyone come to school,” Dr. Veracco said.

Students and parents are asked to please shovel and salt driveways and sidewalks to help students get to and from bus stops safely. Students are reminded that Thursday, Jan. 9 will be a blue day and to check their student email for updates.