Winter Weather Update

February 28, 2019

To: West Fork CSD Parents and Guardians
From: Darrin Strike, supt.

Due to the winter weather we have endured the past couple of months, the topic of school calendar and lost days due to weather were discussed at our regular Board meeting on February 18. At the meeting, the board explored a number of options including extending the school day, utilizing professional development time, and extending the school year. At the end of their conversation, the board felt the best thing for West Fork would be to extend the school year due to the geography of our district and students in rural areas already having a long day with transportation.

At the time of the board meeting, West Fork had missed school on 10 days (we made up one of those days on Monday, February 18) and another 16 hours of instructional time due to eight late starts. At the conclusion of the board meeting, we felt a possible scenario would be ending the school year on June 4 for students and June 7 for staff. Since that board meeting, we have missed an additional two days and we are now entering the month of March which generally lends itself to a weather situation or two.

We realize that families want to make summer plans and parents want to know some specifics for childcare reasons. At this time, we can say that unless we lose two to three more days of school, the school year for students will end during the week of June 3 and will not exceed June 7. We will reach out to parents with an anticipated date for ending the year at the end of March.

Thank you for your understanding and patience throughout the winter! We know that a “no school” day or late start/early dismissal means a great disruption to your family’s regular routine. Please know that we don’t take weather decisions lightly and your support is appreciated.