(LEX 18) — School attendance for both students and staff has been down across the state, due to the recent rise in flu cases and other viruses.
With more winter weather headed our way, districts are preparing for the possibility of either another snow or NTI day, a decision Superintendent of Bourbon County Schools Dr. Larry Begley, does not take lightly.
"One of the nightmare scenarios that keeps me up at night is not the road conditions, but it's having kids on the roads during those conditions," said Dr. Begley.
Anytime the forecast calls for snow or ice, Dr. Begley is left with the decision to either call off school or utilize an NTI day.
"So Bourbon County is in pretty good shape for NTI days," said Dr. Begley. "We have missed several days of school because of the weather that we had. There was snow on the ground for like 28 straight days, but we only utilized four NTI days, so we have six left."
But it's not just the weather that could impact those days. Illness has also led to low attendance for both students and staff.
"Today's attendance was 90.5% and so that's really not where we need to be or expect to be," explains Dr. Begley. "We would really expect to be between 93 and 95 on any given day."
While that number may not seem very big, a school's funding is directly tied to its average daily attendance. If you deviate more than 5% below daily attendance, it negatively impacts school funding. Dr. Begley says if you take funding out of it, the fewer children that you have in the seats, the fewer people you have learning.
"So, it's probably the seat time that the children are missing that probably affects my internal decision making more than the money."
Dr. Begley says since COVID-19, they have continued deep cleaning, especially on weekends. He plans to take things day by day, and thanks students, staff, and families for navigating along with him.
"This community has been really good and supportive of the decisions that we've made knowing that while they're not made for popularity, they're made for what's best, what we think is best for the kids and the staff that have to travel and have to endure sickness and carry that home."
Dr. Begley says he expects to make a decision about a possible snow day sometime Monday evening.
