This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Lost Sandy Days Waiver Sought by Hopatcong BOE

District faces making up two weeks of classes.

The Hopatcong Borough School District has asked the state Department of Education for a waiver of some rules to provide flexibility in addressing the need to schedule two weeks of classroom time lost to Hurricane Sandy.

School Board president Clifford Lundin said at Monday’s board meeting that the high school lost 12 days of instruction and the other schools lost 11 days when the storm forced the schools to close. By law, New Jersey public schools must schedule 180 days of instruction.

Whatever decision is made, Lundin said, the Christmas vacation will not be affected.

Find out what's happening in Hopatcong-Spartawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He said the education department will have to make a statewide decision because of the large number of schools closed by the storm.

One possibility, Lundin said, is adding some instructional time to each school day.

Find out what's happening in Hopatcong-Spartawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The district is not seeking to just tack the days on the end of the school year, Lundin said.

“We can’t be sitting here June 30 just to meet 180 days,” Lundin said.

Superintendent Charles Maranzano said a key issue is that schedules  for certain standardized tests can not be changed.

He said in its letter to the state, the board made it clear that any solution to the lost days has to consider the district can not change the dates of the SATs or the state’s required HSPA test.

In other scheduling matters affect by Sandy, Lundin said parents whose students were approved by the Hopatcong board to apply to other districts under the state’s choice program, should contact the other school to see when the district plans to hold its lottery.

The board approved the applications of 11 eighth graders to apply to Lenape Valley Regional High School in Stanhope, a fourth grader and a second grader to attend school in Wharton or the Morris Hills Regional School District, and an eighth grade to apply to Morris Hills High School.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?