Snow brings no savings for school board
Six snow days for the north, three for south
May 09, 2008 - 08:51
By Crystal Crimi
DURHAM -- This school year's snow days won't have any financial implications for the Durham public school board.
The 2007-2008 school year included three bus cancellation days for all of Durham Region and three more just for the area north of Hwy. 7 -- Brooklin, Brock, Uxbridge and Scugog -- says a staff report presented to the Durham District School Board's May 5 standing committee. Schools remained open in each case.
"There's no savings for us on a snow day," said Mark Joel, the board's superintendent of operations and transportation.
The bus operation contract is based on a fixed number of delivery days and payment still occurs during a cancellation. Staff is also expected to arrive at some point during the day and are paid if they do; they can apply for a sick day otherwise, Mr. Joel said.
Student enrolment grants are not affected by snow day attendance, he added.
Board chairman and Ajax Trustee Marilyn Crawford said she asked staff for the report because of the heavy snowfall this winter. Some school boards had so many snow days they had to come up with creative ways to make up for lost time, Trustee Crawford said.
Mr. Joel said extra work was not assigned during snow days and schools compressed the curriculum to make things work.
The cancellations had various effects on schools, school comments provided in the report show. The biggest impact was seen at north Durham schools.
Beaverton Public School is serviced by only one bus and business occurred as usual there. McCaskill's Mills had 20 to 25 per cent of students attend, but Thorah Central had none.
In Scugog, 25 per cent of its students attended Prince Albert; Epsom/Greenbank had a handful of students and Cartwright Central received 10 per cent.
Uxbridge Public School had 25 per cent attendance and Joseph Gould had 25 to 30 per cent. Less than 10 per cent of students showed up at Scott Central; teachers also had a difficult time getting there. In Goodwood, 10 per cent of the students showed up, but as the number of snow days increased, so did attendance.
Port Perry and Brock high schools had few students attend. Cartwright High School had no students and Uxbridge Secondary School had less than 10 per cent.
Latest News
Cops close in on cocaine suspect at train stationOSHAWA -- Durham cops closed in on a drug trafficking suspect as he awaited an eastbound train Thursday morning in Oshawa, seizing more than four ounces of cocaine.Members...
Police seek suspect in jewelry theftPICKERING -- Police are hoping the release of security camera images will help them nab a suspect in a theft from the Pickering Town Centre. The suspect snatched a valuable ...
Body of missing Whitby man foundWHITBY -- The body of a Whitby man reported missing earlier this week has been found in a wooded area in northern Clarington. Durham police issued an appeal Wednesday for ...
College classes set to go on TuesdayDURHAM -- Even if Durham College's support staff hit the picket lines on Tuesday, classes are set to start. The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) represents 6,500...
Zoom shutdown sends travel agencies scramblingDURHAM -- Travel agencies across the region are left up in the air after carrier Zoom Airlines suspended operations Thursday and filed for credit protection. Hundreds of ...
Students below average in Durham?DURHAM -- The Durham District School Board is one of 10 in the province with below-average student achievement, says a new report. The report, released by the C.D. Howe ...
Stanley Tippett audio now onlineCLARINGTON -- Clips of an audiotaped interview with accused kidnapper Stanley Tippett are now available on newsdurhamregion.com (See related media beneath the google map on ...
Great weekend for swimmingDURHAM -- The long weekend will be a great time to take a dip in local waters as only two of Durham's 15 public beaches are tagged as unfit for swimming. In the final set of ...
Perrin Beatty named university's chancellorDURHAM -- The University of Ontario Institute of Technology's new chancellor is Perrin Beatty, the "ultimate Canadian statesman." The weather was grey and windy ...
College staff strike loomsDURHAM -- College support staff are still at the bargaining table as a Sept. 1 strike date looms. There's not much information to be had on exactly how those negotiations are ...