School started on time Thursday for the first day in two weeks.
Because of days lost to snow, June 18 will be the final day of class for all but graduating seniors. Prior to the onset of harsh winter weather, the final day was to be June 11.
The district lost five days, plus six hours, of instruction time due to inclement weather in February.
The revised schedule for Hood River County School District will be released to families in a district letter this week, and it will reveal that the effects of winter will be felt literally until the last day before calendar summer: June 20 will be the final day for staff to be in the buildings this school year.
Superintendent Dan Goldman announced the revisions Wednesday in his report to the school board at its meeting at Westside Elementary.
Goldman noted that Oregon already has one of the fewest numbers of required instruction days among U.S. states, and “mother nature has put us behind that meager requirement, so we need to make up some days.”
In other business, Goldman noted that the district will proceed with planning what he calls “an expansion budget” for 2019-20, based on Gov. Kate Brown’s planned statewide K-12 budget of $9.07 billion, which is getting pushback at the Oregon Legislature from supporters of other services funded by the state, including post-secondary education.
“We need that $9.07 billion to do what’s right for kids,” said Goldman, who will oversee budget preparations as one of his last major tasks for the district; he announced three weeks ago he will resign to become superintendent of Northwest Oregon Education Service District, effective July 1.
“We are going to push ahead based on $9.07 billion because it is the best information we have, and even if it comes in lower, as long as it is not significantly lower, we will still be able to do an expansion budget.”
The board approved a Classified Employee Appreciation Week resolution recognizing the “smooth operation of offices, the safety and maintenance of buildings and property, and the safe transportation, healthy nutrition and direct instruction of students.”
On the subject of weather, Goldman noted that observing Classified Week March 4-8 is well-timed, given the extra effort that many employees went to in the past two weeks to get buses running, clearing roofs and sidewalks, and other snow-complicated tasks.
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