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RSU 5 board approves plan to use remote school days for weather make-up after debate on equity and logistics
Summary
After debate over equity and access, the RSU 5 board approved a remote-school-day plan allowing the district to convert excess snow days to structured remote learning (with attendance checks, internet-dependent instruction for grades 6–12, physical packets for preK–5, and lunch provision requirements) if the board authorizes it to avoid extending school into late June.
The RSU 5 Board of Directors voted on March 11 to approve a district plan that would allow the administration to use remote-school days to offset weather-related cancellations if the district approaches the calendar’s built-in makeup limit.
Under the approved plan — which administrators said does not require prior DOE approval but does require that the board adopt the plan — teachers would provide one hour of Google Meet office hours during the normal school day. For grades preK–5, the district would send physical materials home; grades 6–12 would use Google Classroom and a Google Form check-in for attendance. The plan also requires meal provision (federal regulations mandate lunch be provided for a day to count as an instructional day), so the superintendent said the district would call a remote day by 11 a.m. the day before to allow lunches to be sent with students or otherwise distributed.
Board members and trustees discussed equity concerns: some members said remote days can unfairly burden families without reliable Internet, working parents who cannot supervise remote learning, or households that could lose power during storms. One trustee said she would be unlikely to vote for the plan for those equity reasons; others argued the plan preserves calendar flexibility and avoids extending school far into summer. Administrators said the plan includes excused-absence options for households that cannot participate remotely.
After debate, the board approved the plan by voice vote.
Administrators said the district previously received permission to repurpose March 13 as a half-day and that the remote-day plan would only be invoked if the district had exhausted its regular makeup days. The plan will remain in place unless the board amends it at a future meeting.
