Beaufort County superintendent changes makeup day, but says he suspects many students won’t show anyway

Swapping one Saturday for another, Beaufort County schools superintendent Jeff Moss said he will not schedule a makeup day on Nov. 11, Veterans Day, and instead will hold school Saturday, Dec. 9, but noted he does not expect attendance to be high on the makeup days either way.

Moss’ announcement at Tuesday night’s board meeting came a week after at least three schools already informed parents, on social media or by email, that Nov. 11 and Nov. 18 would be the designated makeup days to recoup two days of seat time lost from Tropical Storm Irma.

The slight scheduling change also follows a week of district officials receiving emails and Facebook comments about the insensitivity of scheduling a makeup day on a federal holiday that celebrates veterans for their service.

“That’s a big day in our household,” parent Christina Roberts said during the meeting’s public comment period. “My brother served 30 years. My dad served. This is absolutely ridiculous.”

Attempting to meet Roberts on middle ground, Moss mentioned his father was also a veteran.

Another factor that played a role in the scheduling change was the Heritage Days Celebration on St. Helena Island, a popular festival honoring the founding of the Penn Center and the Gullah Geechee culture, scheduled that weekend as well.

While preserving families’ Veterans Day may appease some parents, the fact that students are scheduled to attend school on two Saturdays remains an issue for many.

Last spring, the board designated only Saturdays as the potential makeup days for the first time since the 2013-14 school year. No staff or parent input was sought on the plan that included only Saturdays as designated makeup days.

It’s the only district of the state’s 20 largest to rely entirely on Saturdays in the case of inclement weather, according to a review of 2017-18 academic calendars. The 19 other districts identified only weekdays as back-up dates.

“It’s a a logistical nightmare for us parents,” Roberts told the board. She was one of two members of the public who spoke about makeup days at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Students often have extracurricular activities, jobs or sporting events on Saturdays. Staff often work weekend jobs to supplement their incomes. For people of Jewish faith, Saturday is their holy day, a point board member Christina Gwozdz said she heard from constituents.

“My guess for Saturdays is high absenteeism,” Moss told board members.

For the students who completed online work assigned throughout the evacuation, Moss also said he is sending a letter to South Carolina Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman on Wednesday seeking a waiver for proficiency. It is unclear when and if Spearman approves the waiver what, if any, makeup time would be waived for participating students.

This story was originally published September 20, 2017 at 9:41 AM with the headline "Beaufort County superintendent changes makeup day, but says he suspects many students won’t show anyway."