Top Stories

We hope you enjoy this abbreviated version of the

Frankenmuth News

Serving Frankenmuth Since 1906

Vol. 113 No. 33 - In our 113th year!

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FSD adjusts school year schedule due to inclement weather

  Winter weather has wreaked havoc on schools across the state of Michigan this season.

  Starting back in late 2018 through mid-February 2019, the Frankenmuth School District has lost 13 days of educational instruction. Many other schools across the state are approaching 20 days lost to inclement weather.

  FSD Superintendent Adele Martin, her staff and the FSD Board of Education have taken some steps to get the rest of the school year back on track, knowing more bad weather could be in the offing over the next 4-6 weeks.

  “Keeping students safe during bad weather is our first priority. Obviously, there is a worry about the extension of the school year into late June. With this in mind, we looked at our calendar and made some changes,” Martin said.

  Traditionally in mid to late February, the district has a "Four-day” weekend built in as break. This year, Friday, February 22 and Monday, February 25, were to be winter break days. The students are now going to school both days.

  Also, Friday, April 19 will be a half day of school. That is Good Friday and was be off to begin the Easter break.

  “With the above days added to our calendar, the last day of school would be Monday, June 17 (the Frankenmuth Bavarian Festival is June 6-9, pushing school a week past the fest). There is chatter that the state legislature is proposing a law that would forgive several of the ‘state of emergency’ days. This would certainly be helpful and I’ll keep parents updated on this progress,” Martin stated.

  According to the Michigan School Aid Act, all schools in Michigan must schedule and hold 180 days of school and 1,098 hours of instruction to receive full funding for their individual districts, Martin pointed out.

  There’s also another caveat: During those days and hours that are mandated, the schools must also have 75 percent of their students in attendance to qualify for full funding.

  For a school year, the state gives schools six "Act of God” days which are automatically forgiven. The district had seven to make up. That number is reduced to four with the change to the schedule. The district can apply for a waiver to forgive three additional days. The four days have to be made up, meaning the FSD is adding four days.

  The weather also created winter sports cancelations. Some were made up and others will not be contested.

  “The stretch between January and May is prime learning time for all, and our goal is to have teachers working with the students with few interruptions. We only ask for a little more help from Mother Nature,” Martin concluded.