Districts' Vacation Schedules Diverge

Huntington and South Huntington school districts are following different schedules this week while they try to meet state requirements for classroom days.

Both districts have canceled this week's break that usually follows Presidents' Day. But while South Huntington students will still get Monday off before returning to classes Tuesday, the Huntington district will be in session the entire week.

Because poor road conditions resulting from last week's blizzard forced districts to lose yet another day of school, Huntington students could still face the loss of more vacation time.

"It is very possible that we will need to take yet another day from the March vacation week to meet the 180-day requirement and the winter is not yet over.  This has been an unprecedented year with respect to the impact of weather events on the school calendar," said Huntington superintendent James W. Polansky.

"It is particularly unfortunate that on Monday, with all of our school lots, campus roadways and buildings clear and ready, we had to close because of poor local road conditions."

School districts in the state are required to be in session a minimum 180 days. Hurricane Sandy forced local districts to close several days when many roads remained impassable because of storm debris and downed electrical lines.

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The New York State Education Department allows districts to remain open on certain days it recognizes as legal holidays, including Election Day, Washington's Birthday and Lincoln's Birthday.