This post was created on 12/09/2022.

After the loss of four (4) days of instructional time due to Hurricane Ian, the District was forced to utilize all the scheduling cushion that was built in the 2022-2023 student calendar. We also needed to schedule two (2) student make-up days (Tuesday, January 3, 2023, and Monday, February 20, 2023) and to convert all second semester Early Release Days (ERD) into full student contact days. To make-up the one (1) lost instructional day from Hurricane Nicole, an additional four (4) minutes of student contact is going to be added to the start of each school’s student contact day for the entire second semester of the 2022-2023 school year. Please note, there are no plans to increase the length of any employee’s workday during second semester.

District staff is taking a proposed revised bell time schedule to the School Board for approval at the December 13 School Board meeting. Transportation is working to revise transportation routes to reflect the new bus stop pick-up times each morning and will plan communication with schools and families once the revised route times are established. Communications has prepared general student/parent communication and reminders that will begin rolling out shortly.

Here are some key things that employees should keep in mind:

1. Both January 3, 2023, and February 20, 2023, are now student contact make-up days and scheduled workdays for all District employees, regardless of what was listed on the original employee work calendars for the 2022-2023 school year. 
2. The 2022-2023 employee work and payroll calendars are not being updated to reflect these changes at this time. The 2022-2023 student school year calendar has already been updated and posted to the District’s website.
3. Employees who were actively employed during the District’s Hurricane Ian closure were paid for four (4) non-workdays during that week. This pay was separate from any employee compensation earned due to emergency/sheltering operations and was provided in anticipation of the need for student/staff make-up days/times. 
   1. Employees who were on regular (non-extended) leave during Hurricane Ian already had their leave balances refunded and were paid their normal wages during that storm.
   2. Those employees who were on extended unpaid leave, or who were not employed with the District during Hurricane Ian will be provided additional duty pay for work performed on either make-up day that they work but were not originally calendared for.
   3. Those employees who were on extended paid leave will have the commensurate amount of leave refunded to their leave balance for work performed on either make-up day that they work but were not originally calendared for.
4. Normal leave procedures will apply, and employees who are unable to work one of the two student contact make-up days, for whatever reason, must follow standard procedures for requesting leave and will be charged accordingly.
5. Some schools may need to make slight adjustments to staff start and end times in second semester to accommodate the shift in the start of the student day.