CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Wednesday marked day four of no school in Kanawha County due to the water crisis.
Superintendent Dr. Ron Duerring had hoped to have students back in class no later than Tuesday or Wednesday. That has already come and gone. There’s still no timeline when the school system will get the green light to open the doors. Schools will closed again in Kanawha County Thursday.
Part of the problem is there are still schools in red zones. They can’t begin the clean-up process because they don’t have sterile water. They need to flush their pipes and then scrub down their kitchens and cafeterias, rewash all utensils and trays and sanitize appliances. Then the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department has to come in and inspect the school. It’s time consuming.
Dr. Duerring said they were able to switch Wednesday for a day in February when only teachers were to report. As for the other three days, he said they’ll work it out so students get as close to the required 180-days of instructional time.
“I think it’s possible. We do have some days built in the calendar to make up lost instructional days. There are some of those left,” the superintendent said.
He added if they end up lacking the days the teachers will pick up the slack.
“We’ll work very hard to make up the work with our students academically. We may have to pace a little bit faster.”
He said the last thing schools want to do is rush the clean-up process. He said it’s critical it’s done properly. With new information coming out hour by hour, he said it’s hard to predict what tomorrow will hold.
“There’s just a lot of news that needs to be looked at before we can make that decision.”
Kanawha County’s school year got underway August 9. The last scheduled day of class is set for May 16.