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Board to consider virtual-day authorization to preserve state funding if district exceeds forgiven storm days
Summary
District staff said Aug. 11 they will ask the board to authorize virtual learning days as a tool to preserve state pupil-accounting funding if the district or a school must exceed the six 'forgiven' act-of-God days; virtual days can be limited (teacher check-ins, Google Classroom) rather than full-day synchronous instruction.
Mr. Francis presented the district’s plan for virtual learning days during the Committee of the Whole on Aug. 11, explaining the proposal is intended to preserve state funding when the district or individual schools exceed the six automatic 'act of God' days the Michigan pupil-accounting manual forgives.
Francis said the board previously approved a similar plan and that the district uses flexible formats for virtual days — for example, Google Classroom assignments or limited teacher check-ins rather than full-day synchronous instruction — to meet minimum required hours and minutes for pupil accounting.
He noted that some years the state superintendent or legislature has approved additional forgiven days after large-scale weather events but that the district should not rely on that option in future years. If the district were to exceed the forgiveness threshold and the state did not provide additional relief, the district’s alternatives would include extending the school year or accepting reduced funding; Francis said virtual days are a less disruptive approach.
Board members discussed scenarios such as school-level power outages and confirmed the district would communicate clearly with families before invoking virtual days. The Committee of the Whole agreed to place the authorization on the Aug. 18 regular meeting agenda for board action.
