×

Wood BOE approves calendar

PARKERSBURG – The Wood County Board of Education Tuesday unanimously approved Wood County Schools’ 2014-15 school calendar.

Judy Johnson, director of curriculum and instruction and head of the district’s calendar committee, said the calendar presented for approval Tuesday was identical to the draft calendar presented for discussion at Monday’s public hearing.

In the new calendar, students would begin classes Aug. 18 and teachers would begin four days earlier. The last day of the instructional term would be June 3, 2015, but could go as late as June 30, 2015, due to snow days.

Under the new changes to state law, school systems must complete 180 days of instruction and do not allow for “protected” days.

Johnson said six Out of School Days, also called OS Days, are scheduled on Mondays in February, March and April 2015. Those days would be reclaimed first, becoming instructional days, in the event of days lost to bad weather.

The calendar includes a week off for Thanksgiving break, though three of those days could be reclaimed due to bad weather.

Students will be off Dec. 24 through Jan. 2 for winter break.

Students would be off April 3, 2015, which is Good Friday, and April 6-7, 2015, a Monday and Tuesday, for Spring Break. Easter is Sunday, April 5, 2015.

Though there are two Out of Calendar Days during next year’s spring break, Johnson said the school board would have the option of extending the school year before taking those days.

“It would be the decision of the board,” which days would be used to make up snow days, she said. “We would use those OS Days first, though.”

Officials said they will try to start next year’s calendar discussion earlier, perhaps in January or February, in order to give the community more time to give input and to plan ahead for vacations and other events.

In other business, the board added a discussion item at Tuesday’s meeting, calling for an executive session to hold an initial discussion of salary and benefits with John Flint, who will become superintendent on July 1.

Board President Tim Yeater requested the closed-door meeting but said no action would be taken at Tuesday’s meeting. The board will meet again April 22 and will have the superintendent’s salary and benefits as a discussion and action item at that meeting.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today