During the past month we experienced a weather pattern that required us to close school for a number of days. The six snow/ice days that have occurred put us at (10) snow days for the school year so far. We are allotted six snow days a year, which puts us over that allotment by (4) days.

The safety of our students, and staff is the number one consideration that goes into closing school due to weather. In Three Rivers we transport over 2,200 students approximately 139 square miles on a daily basis. We communicate with the St. Joseph County Road Commission on questionable days due to weather in addition to having 2-3 district employees driving main and back roads to see first-hand the driving conditions. Recently we have had significant ice, snow accumulation, and below zero freezing temperatures that were major factors in closing school.

School closings have occurred all across the state over the past month. Many of these school districts are struggling to meet the required attendance days without pushing the school year into late June. Governor Whitmer declared January 28th – February 2nd as state of emergency days, but unfortunately those days are not automatic forgiveness days.

I submitted the waiver to MDE to get the (3) additional forgiveness days, and our waiver was approved! We currently will have to make-up (1) day, however there have been bills introduced in both the Michigan Senate and House of Representatives that would exclude snow days during the period Governor Whitmer declared a state of emergency regarding the extreme cold Jan. 28th – Feb. 2nd. If either bill is approved, we would not have to make-up the (1) day. The decision on these bills should occur over the next two weeks. If the bill is not approved, I will be working with our teachers and administrators to determine when we will make-up the (1) day.

If there are additional weather related closings or delays, those days will be added to the end of our school year, which is currently scheduled to end on Friday, June 7th, 2019.

Our entire Three Rivers Community Schools staff appreciate your understanding over the past month. We will always make sure that your children are provided a safe and secure learning environment, including transporting them safely to and from school.

You can contact me at rmoag@tschools.org or at 269-279-1100.

Regards,

Ron Moag - Superintendent