Inclement weather modifies school calendar

With the roads cleared and the ice mostly melted, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools reopened Wednesday with regular hours and activities.

The school district closed all schools Friday, Monday and Tuesday because of the ice storm.

The previously scheduled delayed opening for CHCCS on Thursday morning was canceled, though, to make up for loss of instructional time.

Carolina Avary, the PTA president at Frank Porter Graham Elementary School, said she had to take three days off from work to watch her two children.

She said most parents don’t have that flexibility.

Avary said it would be very helpful for parents to have a community resource to turn to for their childcare needs during emergencies so their paychecks don’t take such a hit.

“The school system should provide some sort of support for care of the kids during these circumstances,” Avary said.

“Or perhaps a list of local partners that are available.”

Jeff Nash, spokesperson for the school district, said the district must make difficult decisions on which teacher workdays and holidays will become regular school days.

The school board announced Thursday that the previously scheduled teacher workday set for Feb. 15 would now be scheduled as a full school day.

“In a perfect world, wouldn’t it be great if we could just add those days to the end of the school year and just go an extra week if we needed to make up those lost days,” Nash said.

“But we’re not allowed to do that.”

Nash said most parents were very pleased with the timely manner in which they received notice of the school closings.

But he said weather conditions caused much difficulty for parents in finding childcare during the three snow days.

Nash said, other than Wake County Schools, CHCCS was the only district in the area that operated on a normal schedule Wednesday.

Chatham County Schools spokesperson Lori Major Carlin said though the schools opened Wednesday on a two-hour delay, the feedback from parents was positive.

She said this was because the parents understood that the delay was in the best interest of their children.

“Chatham County encompasses a very large geographic space. Many of our rural roads are difficult for the Department of Transportation to clear as they are continuously shaded and slow to melt,” Carlin said.

“Our decisions to close or delay schools are always with regard to student and staff safety.”

After staying home for three days with no extra homework, Avary said her two children were eager to get back to school.

@nicole_gonzzz

city@dailytarheel.com