Graduation Pushed Back in Sparta Due to Sandy

Sparta students will make up the lost school days from Superstorm Sandy by attending school an extra week in June, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the second day of Presidents Day vacation.

The school year is now extended until June 28, and the students will go to school on Jan. 21 and Feb. 19.

The BOE adopted District Superintendent Dennis Tobin's proposal at Monday night's meeting to make up the seven lost days after the storm.

The original high school graduation and project graduation date of June 21 has been moved to the new last day of school on June 28.

Tobin said that school officials checked with the project graduation committee about the new date, and said that the facility will still be available on June 28.

Tobin said that even with the added seven days, there are still four days available to be used for snow days.

If the district goes beyond the four extra days, he said the days will be taken off spring break.

If not all of the days are used this winter, Tobin said the school year will end a little earlier.

"If we don't use the four days, just as we did last year, we will take those days off in June," he said.

Even if the days are taken away in June, Tobin said the graduation date will remain on June 28.

He added that the middle school graduation date of June 27 also will stay the same.

"This way we are going to allow our school community to make their special plans for those two special ceremonies," he said.