There's a strong chance Portland Public Schools could see its ninth snow day on Tuesday, further imperiling the school year's schedule and frustrating parents.
The unusually cold winter has brought the district to a standstill that feels like the "twilight zone," Courtney Wilton, Portland Public Schools interim chief operating officer, told The Oregonian/OregonLive Monday morning.
The severe winter storms -- which caused Gov. Kate Brown to declare a state of emergency -- mean Oregon schools must figure out how to make up for lost instructional time, a challenge because the state has grown more serious about make schools teach children for the full amount of time required.
This is the first year school boards aren't allowed to shorten the school year on their own in response to weather-related closures. Previously, they had the ability to cut the year short by up to 14 hours.
Now, if they want to avoid eating into summer break they must seek a waiver from The Oregon Board of Education.
State schools chief Salam Noor has said he plans to recommend the board give districts a one-time exception from the requirement that they hold school for at least 900 hours, or 990 hours for high school students, but he has not indicated what form or size of exception he envisions.
Portland and other districts are looking for ways to avoid simply tacking all the lost days on to the end of the school year. In a message on Jan. 13, Tigard-Tualatin School District Superintendent Ernie Brown told families the district is looking at converting training days and conference days into school days.
That district has already extended the school year to June 20 and still must find ways to make up time.
The Portland school board has already added two days to its school year and is supposed to consider adding yet another day at a meeting Tuesday. That would mean ending the year on June 14. The proposed plan also involves ending late start and early release days to make up time.
An ice storm forecast for Tuesday could disrupt that meeting, which is also supposed to address several issues that had been planned for a meeting last week, but were bumped when that meeting was cut short by snow.
It's a critical time for the district, which is working to hammer out language for a $750 million bond for May's ballot, hire a superintendent as well as other critical top-level hires and wrap up negotiations with the teacher's union.
The snow has also canceled meetings regarding the bond.
Wilton said in a text message the district is pushing to be open Tuesday, but he worries about how much snow and ice still covered roads, sidewalks and school grounds. Worse, there's a chance of freezing rain Tuesday, creating potentially hazardous conditions.
"No right answer on this but ultimately have to decide how much risk is OK/part of life and how much isn't reasonable for parents to endure," Wilton said.
At this point the regular rhythm of school feels like a distant memory between more than a week's worth of snow days on top of two weeks of winter break and holidays.
Snow days can be a hardship for families who are forced to take days off work to stay home or find and pay for last-minute child care. Closures can also hurt kids who rely on free or reduced-price meals from their school.
-- Bethany Barnes