Third time’s a charm? School makeup schedule may change again
The Beaufort County school board has called an emergency meeting to rescind its weather makeup-day schedule and to vote again on a different plan.
The board released an agenda for the urgent, special-called meeting at about 4:50 p.m. Thursday. It will take place at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the media center of the District Education Services Center, 2900 Mink Point Blvd. in Beaufort.
On Tuesday, the board voted 7-4 to make up days missed for Hurricane Matthew by extending the winter semester into January and extending the school year to the end of May. That was the third of four options presented to the body on Tuesday, and not the one favored by Superintendent Jeff Moss or employees and parents surveyed by the district.
Instead, the administration and most survey respondents had selected Option 4, to schedule some of the eight school days lost to October’s hurricane during the first week of winter break.
After about an hourlong discussion, though, a majority of the board agreed to leave the start of winter break intact, bring students back to school Jan. 3, and hold end-of-course exams for high schoolers the following week. Board chairwoman Mary Cordray and members Joseph Dunkle, Bill Payne and Paul Roth opposed that decision.
There are two items of business on Friday’s meeting agenda. First, the board will vote to rescind its weather makeup-day plan. Second, the board will hear another motion on a weather makeup-day plan.
If the board settles on something different, it will be the third schedule the district has announced since Hurricane Matthew.
Initially, the district told news media and members of the community on Oct. 19 that it would be using winter break to make up the lost time but accidentally omitted that the plan still required board approval.
That vote came Tuesday, when the body selected a new plan.
Rebecca Lurye: 843-706-8155, @IPBG_Rebecca
This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Third time’s a charm? School makeup schedule may change again."