By ROBERT LINNEHAN | The Voorhees Sun
Voorhees elementary students should plan to spend a few more days in their schools at the end of June, as the district will be forced to extend its school year by at least four more days because of weather-related school closures.
Coordinator of Elementary Programs Irene Afek said the district has missed four days of school since December.
In December the district missed a day and in February the district was forced to close its schools three more times, she said, the latest being Friday, Feb. 26.
The most the district has missed in a year was 11 in 1996. In 1996 the district was forced to close the doors of its schools 11 times because of snow and ice.
There are currently no snow days built into the school district calendar, Afek said.
All four days will have to be tacked on to the school year at the end of June. Some school districts will make up missed days during their spring break, but the board has always stuck by its same policy, Afek said.
“Our advertised policy on the yearly calendar states that the school will extend the year. That’s what has been advertised on our calendars through the last eight years. The last time we added days was in 1996 when we had 10 or 11 snow or ice days. That was a very difficult winter, we had to be more creative,” she said. “We’ve missed one day in December and three so far in February.
“We were closed last Friday, early dismissal on Thursday. It’s the first early dismissal we’ve had in years.”
Hopefully the district won’t lose any more days in March, Afek said.
Afek said residents and students should check in with the district’s Web site at Voorhees.k12.nj.us. to see if any changes to the schedule are made in the future.
