The Board of Education at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, March 3, approved a change to the current school year calendar.  Monday, April 21, will now be a regular day of school for all students and staff. Here’s a link to the updated calendar.

Emergency Closure Days

As of March 3, the district has used seven (7) days to close school due to inclement weather. The dates were January 7, 8, 10, February 12, 18, 19, and 20.

Note: The district implemented a two-hour delayed start on two days, January 21 and February 5. The Kansas State Department of Education counts the delayed start days as regular school days.

USD 232 planned the current school year calendar with six (6) emergency closure days. Although the district has used seven days, the district remains slightly above the minimum required hours for student contact time. The amount of time in reserve, however, is not sufficient to respond to an additional unforeseen circumstance.

April 21 – regular school day

For planning purposes, Monday, April 21, will now be a regular school day for all students and staff. This date was noted on the official 2024-25 school year calendar as a possible make-up day, along with Friday, May 23. For now, the only change is for April 21.

The additional instructional time will not only be beneficial to students, it also will provide the district with about 1.5 days in reserve for emergencies. The Board further authorized the Superintendent to alter the current calendar – only if necessary – to respond to issues between now and the end of the school year.

Being Prepared for Unforeseen Circumstances

Emergency closures are not just for snow days. Because the district has already utilized seven emergency closure days, it is critically important to have additional time in reserve to respond to unforeseen circumstances as we approach the end of the school year.

• In May 2024, a F-1 tornado touched down on the campus of Mill Valley High School. The district had to close MVHS for one day to assess damage and start clearing debris.
• In May 2022, the district closed Belmont Elementary school for three days due to a mechanical failure with the building’s cooling system. This occurred at time when our region experienced unseasonably high daytime temperatures.
• Several years ago in April, the district closed Starside Elementary for one day due to a watermain break.

Providing adequate time in the calendar to respond to unexpected circumstances ensures our schools maintain student attendance requirements established by the State of Kansas. We’ll keep you advised if there will be any further changes.