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Superintendent proposes adding daily minutes to recover three weather days
Summary
Superintendent Dr. James told the Shawnee Public Schools board the district plans to add instructional minutes rather than days to recoup three weather-closure days, citing transportation limits that cost Pre-K/K students about 30 minutes daily; communications to families are ready to be sent.
Superintendent Dr. James told the board Feb. 9 that the district lost three instructional days to recent weather and plans to add instructional minutes to regular school days rather than add full days to the calendar.
Dr. James said Pre-K and the district Kindergarten center currently lose about 30 minutes of instructional time each day because of transportation logistics and that, if minutes are added, the change would need to apply to all sites for consistency. He described adding minutes as more cost-efficient than adding full days and said communications to families were prepared before the board meeting.
Dr. James also explained logistical choices: "Provided that something disastrous does not happen, there is enough of a cushion with the added time that we will be good until the end of the school year," according to the meeting record. He recommended shifting added minutes to the end of the school day for middle and high schools to avoid disrupting elementary transportation schedules.
He noted pending state legislation that would change calendar requirements and said adopting minutes now could position Shawnee ahead of that process. Dr. James thanked County Commissioners and the City of Shawnee for providing plows and a road grader that helped clear multiple sites' parking lots after the storms.
Next steps: staff will finalize the family communications and implement the added minutes unless unforeseen circumstances require a different approach.
