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Just 3 snow days for Salem
By D.A. WILKINSON
SALEM
On a warm August night, the Salem Board of Education looked ahead to the colder months.
Superintendent Tom Bratten said Monday that the district has lost two snow days for the 2010-11 school year.
That leaves the district with only three snow days for the year.
The number is set by the Ohio Department of Education, he said.
Any additional snow days will be have to be made up at the end of the school year, according to the superintendent.
Bratten said he checks with Steve Andres, the city’s safety and service director, before deciding to call off school for a snow day.
Often, he said, Andres will tell the district of the city’s planned response to pending snowstorms.
Bratten said he would rather have students come in on a delayed start for a 51/2-hour day, which does not have to be made up, than cancel classes.
People should check the district’s website for weather events or call the district for a recorded message.
In other business, the meeting’s discussion concerned busing.
Even in good weather, Tom Mather, the district’s transportation supervisor, said that he is often asked, “Why isn’t my child being picked up?”
Salem students who live less than a mile from school are not eligible for transportation.
Mather told the board that he must organize regular runs to the district’s three elementary schools and the junior and senior high as well as the school districts in Alliance and Lisbon. The district also handles transportation for students with special needs.
Bratten suggested that parents with questions get in touch with Mather.