Wallingford Education Board Asks State for Waiver from 180-Day School Year

First there was Hurricane Sandy, then there was the recent blizzard.

Both weather events took their toll on the Wallingford Public School calendar, so much so that school officials are asking the state Department of Education to waive the required 180 days of school by five days.

If granted, it would give the Board of Education a bit of leeway in ending the school year in time for the roofing project planned for this summer.

"We are in a really unique situation — we were hit hard by both the hurricane and the blizzard," board Chairman Roxan McKay said, noting that the damage to Sheehan High School from the hurricane was so bad that students had to attend classes at the Oakdale Theater for several days while the building was being repaired.

"As it is, we are going to the end of June and we can't go any further out," she said, referring to the last day of school date of June 28. By law, students must finish the school year by July 1.

"We have already taken away vacation days in April," she said, "and we are really pretty desperate where we are meeting the 180 day criteria."

This week the Board of Education unanimously approved sending the letter, which was set to be sent to the state Education Commissioner in Hartford Friday. 

It's especially important to get the school year finished and students out of the buildings because most of the town's schools will have roof replacement projects going on over the summer, she said.

"The work can't start until school is over," she said. "We can't have that kind of construction work going on while the kids are in school."

The roof projects began last summer, which was practically rain-free, aiding in the completion of the work. Hopefully that weather trend will continue this summer, McKay said. 

"I don't know what summer will be like weather-wise," she said. "Last summer was wonderful because it was relatively rain-free and we were able to get the work done in a reasonable time frame."

The board is hoping that state education officials will look favorably on their request in light of the fact that the district has a tradition of going beyond what is required in terms of school days, McKay said. 

"Traditionally, Wallingford has for many years gone beyond the 180 days — 182 is sort of the average," she said. "We obviously take education very seriously and the number of days very seriously — this isn't something we have taken lightly."