Luverne district seeks state snow day 'relief'

Luverne Public Schools will count April 11 as a student contact day even though a blizzard kept students and staff at home.
Board members decided at their April 25 meeting not to make up the missed day of classes, choosing to seek state relief instead.
“I think it is in the school district’s best interest to be done on May 17,” said Superintendent Craig Oftedahl.
Prior to the April 11 blizzard, Luverne accumulated five missed class days that extended the construction-shortened school year from May 10 to May 17.
According to Oftedahl, many key construction items were already postponed a week to accommodate the snow days. They are scheduled to begin May 20.
“It makes sense to move forward,” Oftedahl recommended to board members.
Luverne’s resolution asks for one relief day, based on the “Snow Day Relief Act,” sign by Gov. Tim Walz earlier this month.
The legislation allows districts that cancel one or more class days — due to health and safety concerns — to count one or more of those missed days toward the mandated 165 instruction days without losing state aid.
At their March 28 meeting, board members decided against asking for relief, choosing to make up the days instead.
With the addition of a sixth snow day, the board decided in a 6-0 vote to take one relief day and offer staff a more flexible plan to make up missed work days. Chairman Jodi Bosch was not at the Thursday night meeting.
Licensed staff will have the flexibility to make up two of three missed days sometime between May 20 and June 5 required in the current contract.
The third required contract day will be made up this fall, prior to the start of the 2019-20 school year on Sept. 16.
A staff survey indicated 70 percent of the faculty supported the flexible plan, according to Oftedahl.
Hourly staff members have a similar flexible plan to make up the April 11 snow day.
They can work one day after the school year ends on May 17 or choose not to be paid for their one snow day.
Adrian, Hills-Beaver Creek and Ellsworth school districts are making up the snow days and won’t be using relief act.
The number of districts requesting relief days is currently unknown.
“School districts are not required to report the number of instructional school days until the end of the year,” said Wendy Hatch, spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Education.