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Blue Springs R‑IV board weighs using April 8 election day, Good Friday and Memorial Day week to make up snow days
Summary
After winter closures and six AMI days, district staff told the board the calendar is below the planned number of student‑contact days; staff recommended considering April 8 as a makeup day and the board asked staff to survey parents and audit polling‑site logistics.
School district leaders told the board at the March work session the district has used six AMI days and five traditional snow days and is currently below its planned number of student contact days.
Superintendent Dr. Jerome said the district’s calendar originally provided 170 student contact days (totaling 1,105 hours). State law sets the minimum at 169 days and a minimum number of total hours (1,044). With days used to date the district would be down to 165 student-contact days without makeups, but staff reported the district would still be above the state minimum for hours — estimating 1,069.5 total hours if no changes are made.
Dr. Jerome recommended using April 8 (an election day currently scheduled as a professional development/no‑students day) as a potential makeup day, which staff said would raise the total to 166 days and bring hours to about 1,076. Board members raised safety and logistics questions about schools used as polling locations and asked facilities and security staff for more detail about how voters are kept separate from students during elections.
Steve, a facilities staff member, said most schools have been reserved for polling and that middle schools generally have side entries or rooms that can be used to keep voting traffic separate. Chief Russell and staff said SROs and building staff have been used in the past to secure voting areas; the board asked staff to do a small audit of buildings used for voting and to provide a plan for the April 8 setup.
Board members discussed additional options if more makeups are needed: (1) use April 18 (Good Friday) as a full or half day; (2) add days the week after Memorial Day (the Tuesday–Thursday of that week); or (3) use a combination of half days to meet the 169‑day threshold. Several board members and staff noted instructional timing — testing windows (EOC, MAP, AP) and teacher preparation — favors making April 8 a student day if possible. One board member said, “From an instructional angle April 8 is a pretty important day as we're heading into the finish of the year.”
Board members asked staff to survey parents and staff about preferences for April 18 and other options. Staff said they could assemble a survey and report results before the next regular board meeting. Directors also noted a pending state legislative change could affect how the 169‑day threshold is calculated; staff cautioned the board that legislative developments might change the district’s final calendar decisions.
No formal calendar change was adopted at the work session. Staff left with direction to prepare a buildings‑for‑polling audit, draft a parent/staff survey on April 18/Good Friday options, and return recommendations for board action.
