School make-ups during a State of Emergency Wednesday, February 10, 2010 Jon-Paul Wimer, senior journalist 10:30 AM - As Governor Ed Rendell declared Pennsylvania in a State of Emergency, and Mayor Tony Court did the same for Ellwood City, schools around Pennsylvania (and Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, New York, Ohio and New Jersey) put a halt on education for the time being. Although it may have seemed obvious for the Ellwood City School District to close all school and activities during a State of Emergency, there is, in fact, no formality stating that a District must be closed. “The Governor did declare a State of Emergency, but no directives for schools,” said Ellwood City Superintendent Frank Aloi. With snow days beginning to add up, many are beginning to wonder if schools have to make up a snow day if a State of Emergency has been issued. According to the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the missed school days may not have to be made up while Pennsylvania is in a State of Emergency, but the emergency declaration does not automatically qualify districts for forgiveness of days. Supposedly, each Superintendent in Pennsylvania must write a specific letter about their district's situation and send it to the Department of Education who makes the determination. If the Ellwood City School District fully describes the extent of difficulty the snow storm has brought the Borough and surrounding areas, they may be granted forgiveness of the snow day(s). However, the essence of the matter is that school districts have the ability to adjust calendars in order to still have 180 days of instruction by June 30, so the Department of Education may still require the days to be made up. It is essential that the District explain the amount of snow that fell on Ellwood City, as well as the work needed to remove the snow so transportation is made possible. The last storm over the weekend that led to the State of Emergency dropped approximately 20 inches of snow, leading to the 4th largest snow fall in Ellwood City history. The last snow fall to surpass this particular storm was in 1993 when 24.6 inches of snow fell on the area. NOTE: Superintendent Frank Aloi said that the District will not know until later today/tonight whether school will be delayed or cancelled tomorrow. Stay tuned to EllwoodCity.org for up-to-the-minute news.