By KIERA BRENNAN
News Editor
Aside from permanently altering the shoreline, Superstorm Sandy also affected the 2012-2013 school year, changing scheduled events and pushing the final day of school back a week to June 25.
To complete the state’s mandatory 180-day school year, four days were reclaimed from the original holiday calendar: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, the last day of Spring Break and the first day of Memorial Day Break.
Sophomore Matt Taylor of Tinton Falls said he is disappointed about losing Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents Day in particular.
“I was upset because I usually go snowboarding those weekends and now I might miss it,” he said. “But I’d rather lose those days than Spring Break days.”
Should school be cancelled due to inclement weather, days will be taken away from Spring Break, starting with March 25. If more days are needed, school will open on Saturdays.
Senior Casey Bossert of Hazlet said that attending any Saturday session would be a “joke.”
“Personally, as a senior, I would not go at all,” Bossert said. “I don’t think I’d be doing things anyway.”
Junior Timothy Viola of Manasquan also said that he would most likely not show up to school on a Saturday.
“Free ice cream or something fun like that might get me to come,” Viola added.
The last day of school was also changed from June 19 to June 25, which conflicts with the SkillsUSA trip to Kansas City, Missouri, to compete in the National Leadership and Skills Conference.
SkillsUSA President and senior Gia Reilly of Wall said the school year extension has already affected nationals, despite the competition being months away. “Almost every senior except for one or two have dropped out of their competitions or have been asked not to compete in a group,” Reilly said. “I think I might be the only one now.”
Despite any problems, the New Jersey School Boards Association voted to uphold N.J.S.A. 18A:7-F9, which states schools must be in session 180 days in a school year in order to receive state aid.
The association, in a pamphlet released to address Superstorm Sandy concerns, said that, “if all efforts to achieve make-up days have been exhausted, a waiver process may be used.”
In order to do so, a formal resolution must be made, which requires a list of steps that have been taken to acquire facilities and resources in order to meet the 180-day requirement, especially in the case of natural disasters.
The association, in its brochure, went on to add that “the waiver has rarely been granted.”
This story was published in the print edition of The Inkblot on December 19, 2012.