Dr. Cook outlines 2627 calendar options; staff to vote on two drafts

At a Brooke County Schools board meeting, Dr. Cook presented options for the 2627 academic calendar and described the committee's plan to send two draft calendars to school staff for an internal vote before the board acts.

Dr. Cook said the district is watching recent state legislation "that they actually have approved" which may change how calendars are measured, "instead of days looking at the total, instructional hours." He said the district does not yet know how the change will affect planning, so the calendar committee is preparing drafts under the current policy that requires 180 instructional days as set by the West Virginia Department of Education.

The committee's draft calendars will include three days for content enhancement, Dr. Cook said, and he noted that holiday dates are set by the West Virginia Department of Education. On the topic of Thanksgiving, he said the committee has for years scheduled a full week off because of a high absenteeism rate during that week, a pattern the district attributes in part to hunting season.

Dr. Cook described the committee process: representatives from every school met to build two calendar options. "We'll have a couple of, 2 calendars that we'll send out to staff, and they will have a vote," he said, adding that once the committee receives a final tally from schools it will bring a recommendation to the board for consideration.

He said the district will hold a second public meeting required by state law (discussed in the meeting as March 23) and aims to submit the finalized calendar to the state by May 1 so it can be checked against state requirements. The board will consider the recommendation at an April or May meeting depending on vote timing.

Dr. Cook also reviewed the district's make-up-day flexibility: five professional learning days plus equivalent time from staff's eight-hour day work schedule provide "10 days that we can use" for closures. He said the district filed a waiver with the state after a water-related closure at the Brooke High and Middle School complex during a state-declared emergency in January under Governor Morris; if that waiver is approved the district would not have to make up that single missed day, but if it is denied the district may need to schedule an O-day (for example, the Monday of spring break) to meet the 180-day requirement.

Board Chair (speaker S1) closed the meeting with a motion to adjourn; the motion passed on a voice vote and the meeting adjourned at 05:35.