Board sets May 29 as last day of classes, TNHS, NCHS graduation date

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Thursday, March 26, 2015, 8 p.m. — Thomas Nelson and Nelson County high school seniors will graduate the evening of Friday, May 29, the Nelson County Board of Education decided in a special meeting Thursday.

The board also set May 29 as the final day of school in the Nelson County Schools system.

Superintendent Anthony Orr said the high schools will follow the alternating graduation time as begun last year; Thomas Nelson will graduate at 5:30 p.m., Nelson County will graduate at 7:30 p.m.

The district has missed eight days so far; two of those missed days were made up on Feb. 13 and March 13.

Four of the six remaining days missed will be made up by adding them to the end of the school calendar — May 26, 27, 28 and 29. The two remaining days will be made up by using instructional hours the district has “banked” — hours of instruction the district will have achieved that exceed the state’s minimum of 1,062 hours.

The board discussed how the district will cope if flooding this Spring forces some students to miss school. Orr told the board that the district’s transportation personnel have contingency plans for transporting students who live in flood-prone areas. Students who would be forced to miss school would have their absences excused.

Board chairman Damon Jackey also noted that teachers in some schools have given students work they can do from home when weather forces them to miss school as an alternative way to minimize the lost instructional time.

Certified and classified staff have contractual obligations beyond Friday, May 29, and they will work a half day on Monday, June 1. June 2 will be a flexible professional development day.

Orr said legislation heading to Gov. Steve Beshear’s desk and will become law offers the district another option in the event more days are missed. The new law gives districts the option of holding high school graduation ceremonies prior to the end of classes. The law could allow districts to keep graduation ceremony dates set even if additional days were added to the school calendar.

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