Perkiomen Valley board questions use of flexible instructional days after superintendent’s update

Board members at the Perkiomen Valley School District meeting on Dec. 1 pressed administration to clarify when the district may replace in‑person school with flexible instructional days (FIDs). The FID policy allows virtual instruction as an alternative to canceling school for weather or emergencies, but board members said the language should be clearer about whether FIDs can be used before the district exhausts its three built‑in inclement‑weather days.

"Once the 3 built in inclement weather days have been exhausted, then the district can announce FID days," said a board member reading language from the plan. Doctor Russell responded that her understanding differed and she would review the board‑approved plan and follow up. The superintendent cited a provision that allows the superintendent to exercise discretion for "extenuating environmental circumstances" — for example, floods or isolated building outages — and used a transformer failure at the high school as an example of a situation where a FID was used.

Board members asked for clarification on thresholds — how many students without power, for instance, would warrant a FID — and discussed the limits of remote instruction (power outages would make FIDs impractical). Administration committed to reviewing the plan language, confirming whether the board‑passed policy requires using built‑in inclement days before FIDs, and returning with recommended clarifications and next steps.