district students returned to class on Monday
After full week off,
district students returned to class on Monday
By karl vilacoba
Staff Writer
BRICK — Students enjoyed a rare full week off of school due to last week’s storm and the Presidents Day holiday, but may be disappointed to learn that the cancellations will result in a longer school year.
Counting Friday, the total count of school closings due to inclement weather has run to six in the Brick Township school district. At the school year’s outset, the scheduled final day of classes was on June 18. That will now be June 26, assuming there are no more weather-related school closings to come.
By law, public schools can’t stay open any longer than June 30, according to Jennifer Strano of the district’s community relations office.
Although Brick’s roads were, for the most part, well plowed by Friday, the storm caused other problems on school grounds that remained major safety concerns.
Excessive snow accumulations on school roofs caused several leaks in the district’s school buildings. At Brick Township High School, four classrooms had leaking ceilings, although no major damages resulted from them, Strano said.
Snowdrifts continued to block safety features at district buildings which left the buildings vulnerable as fire hazards. Fire hydrants, fire exits and windows were blocked at many facilities late last week.
There were also serious concerns about access routes to school grounds being inadequate for emergency vehicles to pass in a timely manner. Administrators feared that snow-banks could impede a bus’s ability to make wide turns on many side streets to pick up and drop off students.
"The people who live and travel on roads that are well-plowed have questioned why we’re closed," Strano said. "But there are still fire exits and vents blocked. It’s not just a matter of snow on the roads."
School faculty returned to work Thursday on a voluntary or as-needed basis at the administration building, Hendrickson Road. Students returned to school Monday morning at their regular hours for the first time since Feb. 14.
Weekend events that were scheduled to take place on school grounds, such as sports contests, were allowed to resume at the discretion of their organizers.
The Winter Carnival scheduled for Saturday at Brick Township High School was canceled, with no makeup date yet set, Strano said.
The event was organized to raise money for Project Graduation.