The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – Waitsburg High School seniors unanimously agreed they would rather spend two Saturdays in school to make up snow days, than make up the missed days after graduation, District Suprintedent Carol Clarke told the school board at their March meeting.

Waitsburg students have missed four days of school and had two late starts due to weather so far this year. Clarke said the district is required to make up at least three school days. Those three days will be made up on June 12-14.

Clarke said that all schools that missed days must hold class until at least June 14 before they can request a waiver for missed days.

“I made a personal phone call and have been assured by OSPI that the fourth snow day will be waived. But they asked me not to file for a waiver until the end of the month,” Clarke said.

Clarke said the added days will bring the district into compliance with the requirement for minimum hours taught and will not affect the March 31 and May 2 early release days, which will be used for teacher in-service. However, she said any additional late starts or cancellations would change that.

Clarke said that the senior class voted unanimously to attend school on two Saturdays. The seniors selected March 11 and April 22, which is prom day, as their Senior Saturday makeup days.

“This will allow the seniors to keep their scheduled graduation date of June 2. Then they will come back on June 5 to check out as they always have on that last day,” Clarke said.

Senior advisor Roseann Groom and Clarke joined the seniors on their first makeup day last Saturday when they took a field trip to the Fort Walla Walla Museum. The class also visited the Marcus Whitman Hotel second floor art gallery where 35 paintings by David Manuel are displayed that depict the story of 1830’s missionaries, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman.

Plans for the second makeup day are still “under construction” Clarke said.