BELFAST - Regional School Unit 20 has had six snow days this year. A proposal to make up three of them by holding school on Saturdays was voted down by the district’s board of directors Tuesday night, but not without some confusion over what was at stake.

The eight-town district will be in session until June 22 counting the six added days for snow cancellations.

In 2014, the last student day was June 23. So why the scramble to rein in the year’s end? 

The answer may come down to a handful of events that were scheduled close to the end of the year, or some other unknown factor. On Tuesday night, however, the plan seemed to rub almost everyone a little bit wrong. And the timing wasn’t popular either.

Board member Dustin Nadeau of Searsport said he first learned of the proposed Saturday sessions from his son, who came home from school talking about an assembly where they’d said “how nice Saturdays would be.”

Cynthia Prosser, a teacher at Searsport District Middle School, expressed a similar feeling of being notified too late, especially with first proposed Saturday less than a week away. Jessica Fuller, also a teacher at SDMS, said late-notice change of a teacher day to a regular school day last month was panned on Facebook by parents and teachers.

“I don’t think anyone is directly opposed to working on Saturdays, but it’s a matter of having time to prepare,” she said.

Pam Lynam, a teacher and class advisor at Belfast Area High School, cautioned against changes that would affect graduation preparations already set in motion. Printed invitations and cap and gown orders had gone out, she said. Vendors for Project Graduation were booked and travel plans of family members coming to commencements would be difficult to change at this point.

Saturday school sessions were debated at length by the board. The group ultimately rejected the proposal, and by a smaller margin, voted down an amended version that would have bumped two of the Saturdays to later in the year.

As the discussion went on, the purpose of the three Saturday sessions became less clear. 

Maine schools are required to hold 175 student days per year for grades K-11 and 170 for graduating seniors. Superintendent Brian Carpenter said seniors in RSU 20 who attended the three proposed Saturday session would still have to return for two days after graduation to hit the 170-day mark.

Carpenter said the state would not grant a waiver for any of the snow days. He also predicted that staff vacations would rule out using any of April vacation for make-up days. With few other options, talk turned to why a graduating senior would ever come back to school for two days after commencement. And if they did, what would they do?

For school days to count in the eyes of the Department of Education, Carpenter said, attendance had to be at least 50-percent. As some board members pointed out, this made Saturdays a gamble.

Not meeting the quota of days could mean penalties from DOE, Carpenter said. He added that falling short of the 50-percent attendance mark could raise major red flags.

“If we get that many kids [out] sick, some nurse better be on the phone to CDC,” he said. “We’ve got an epidemic, and it’s school-itis.”

Lynam noted that the naming of class valedictorian, salutatorian and other honors could hinge on what happens on the days after graduation. “The top five are hundredths of points away from each other,” she said.

Nadeau suggested holding students’ actual diplomas until they have completed the full 170 days. “Give them a piece of paper [at the commencement ceremony] that says, ‘Nice job. See you on Monday,’” he said. 

Others expressed support for this idea. The board voted down the Saturday proposals, meaning snow days will be made up at the the end of the year.

As for what seniors will do on days after graduation, it remains to be seen. According to Carpenter, “community days” are not an option. The only other hint of a suggestion came from board member Stephen Hopkins, who spoke of students playing basketball and swimming in the pool. The idea was put to rest, however, when someone mentioned that grades 9-11 would still be in regular session.

Contact Ethan Andrews at: news@penbaypilot.com