The Fayette County Board of Education Tuesday night voted unanimously to make up during the February winter break three of the five days lost last week to the winter storm that saw schools closed all week across the northern half of Georgia.
Superintendent Jeff Bearden in proposing the alternatives for making up the lost days suggested options such as taking advantage of the four emergency days allowed by the state and requesting a waiver for the fifth day, making up all five missed days or making up a few of the days since winter is not over and additional emergency days might be needed if another winter storm hits.
A fourth option, Bearden said, would be to add additional time to school days to make up the lost time. That option comes with obstacles such as daycare arrangements and overtime pay for some school system employees, Bearden said.
A lengthy discussion by the board followed Bearden’s presentation. Among the topics were concerns of the potential for lost revenue, operational costs and the potential of compromising the various batteries of tests such as CRCT and graduation tests.
Asked for his recommendation, Bearden suggested that the system make up three of the five days. His recommendation included the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the winter break period that runs Feb. 21-25.
“This would put us at 178 days with two days to play with for additional emergency days,” Bearden said.
Bearden also noted that some families and employees might have pre-arranged plans for the winter break week, plans that might not be able to be altered.
Along with their unanimous vote to approve the three make-up days, the board agreed that accommodations would be made for students and employees unable to alter their winter vacation plans.
