With snow days piling up schools now have to decide how to go about replenishing missed hours. In the state of Iowa, schools must be in session for a minimum of 1,080 hours per school year. Schools are allowed to go over that 1,080 hour threshold to bank hours, those practices vary district by district. For example, Highland extended their school days by 15 minutes before the school year, allowing them to add 7.4 days worth of hours to the school year. Mid-Prairie came into the school year with 1,088 hours, which they are now behind pace to reach that number. Superintendent Mark Schneider says they’ve already committed to having class on Presidents Day, which they previously scheduled off for students. Schneider added that there is a very good chance they will be in class until at least the first week of June.

Dr. Mike Jorgensen from the Highland School District says this can also be a tough situation in respect to paying faculty. Jorgensen stated in his monthly Highland Highlights, “Most teachers and support staff contract based on days, so to forgive days means less pay for those who work on an hourly basis. That certainly needs to be a consideration.” Ultimately, it will be up to each district’s school board on how they want to restructure the school calendar, if necessary.