The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – Families making summer vacation plans will be wise not to make reservations immediately following the planned last day of school. Weeks of winter storms and icy road conditions have caused school closures across the valley.

To meet the state requirement of 180 school days, the cancellations have resulted in end-of-year makeup days for most schools.

As of publication, Waitsburg schools have had three closures: on Dec. 12, Dec. 15 and Jan. 18. They have also had two late starts, on Jan. 9 and 11.

Waitsburg had a planned last student day of June 9, but the calendar clearly states that any days missed due to weather or other reasons will be made up starting on Mon., June 12. School will likely not end until June 14, according to school officials. Waitsburg graduation is scheduled for June 2.

“At this point, we don’t believe that date will change. But then, it’s only the middle of one very unusual winter,” said Waitsburg superintendent Carol Clarke.

Dayton students have missed three days, with four late starts. Superintendent Doug Johnson said students will attend school on March 3, which was a planned snow day, and the end of school has been extended two days, from June 9 to June 11. Graduation remains scheduled for Saturday, June 10.

Extreme weather conditions have caused the Prescott School District to be closed four days so far.

“We had one snow day built into the 2016-17 calendar. At this time, it is too early to determine the exact date of the last day of school and graduation,” said Prescott Superintendent Brett Cox.

Parents and students can keep updated on school closures and delays as well as game cancellations on each of the district websites.