Policy for school make-up days due to snow and ice

Published 2:51 pm Monday, January 22, 2024

Parents and students of the South Panola School District will have to wait to learn the details of how and when make-up days – if any-  that have piled up on the school calendar like the snow and ice that has covered Batesville and surrounding areas during the past week will be handled.

Superintendent Del Phillips said Monday that returning all employees and students of the district safely back to classrooms and offices is the priority, and discussions of  make-up days will take place among trustees of the school board later in the academic year.

“We are all anxious to get back to the classroom and education, and basically tired of being stuck in the snow and ice at this point,” Phillips said. “That discussion will take place later in the spring after all chances of inclement weather has passed. It may be April before we get to that point because we have had snow in March before.”

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“I think in Mississippi the rule is that if the governor declares a state of emergency we can pass a resolution at the board level to forgive days for a number of reasons, and weather is one of them. It’s my first year back, but it’s my understanding that’s what the board has done in the past,” Phillips said.

“Obviously it’s up to the school board, but I’m not anticipating any of that,” he said of the possibility that students would be required to make up missed days with Saturday classes.