If there are no more snow days this year, the last day of schools for the Harwood Unified Union School District (HUUSD) will be June 18. The district has lost six school days to inclement weather so far this year. State statute requires schools to be in session for 175 days and HUUSD schedules 178 days in anticipation of losing days to weather, according to district superintendent Dr. Mike Leichliter.
Leichliter was interviewed on February 18 after a two-hour delay became a full-day closure on February 17. He learned at 4 a.m. on Tuesday that the boiler at Brookside Primary School might not be functioning and that a maintenance worker at Crossett Brook Middle School needed an ambulance after dislocating a shoulder and a school bus got stuck on Plunkton Road in Warren. The boiler issue was fixed, the maintenance worker is okay, and a second bus was sent to collect the students stuck on Plunkton Road.
Last year, Leichliter said the district was able to ask the state for a waiver on the number of days in session, as a remnant of COVID policies.
“I don’t plan to do that this year, which was the purpose of my message to the community two weeks ago,” he said.
He said he does get pushback from parents and others about school closings and said he got pushback this week with parents asking if they couldn’t drop their kids off at schools.
“I get it. It’s frustrating for two-parent working families who don’t have back-up systems for child care. It makes it really difficult for parents. But we can’t have kids dropped off at school like that. In order for a school day to count we have to have 50% in attendance and I can guarantee that we would not have hit 50% on Monday. Secondly, while bus transportation is not mandated in Vermont, at the federal level it is mandated for students with disabilities. It’s written into their IEPs. If we have school, and a student with a disability can't get into school and misses a day, then the district is on the hook for compensatory education because we're not meeting the instructional needs,” he said.
Leichliter said that he and the First Student folks are in constant early morning contact when the weather seems dicey. They also rely heavily on local road crews who are most familiar with local roads and are best able to assess whether school buses can safely navigate them.
One of the issues with some schools cancelling, he explained, is the fact that with a weekend like last week, followed by snow and high winds (and drifting) is that road crews have been on the clock for a long time and need to rest.
Leichliter said that in addition to First Student and road crews, he is monitoring the National Weather Service and is in touch with other superintendents.
“I also consult with our district maintenance supervisor to ensure that our parking lots can be cleared and school buildings are completely operational, with functional systems to keep students warm and provide them with running water and essential services, such as hot lunches,” he noted.
