Students in the Danville Independent Schools will maintain the last day of school as May 25, per a decision made by board members Tuesday night.

The Danville Independent Schools have missed one day of school due to snow.

“We’ve had one snow day, we therefore have three options. We can make that day up in full, and therefore move the graduation date. We can maintain the graduation date as it is and use the time we have banked toward that day. We can maintain the graduation date as it is and convert the professional development day on April 28 into an instructional day and move that to the end of the year,” said Danville Superintendent Keith Look.

Look told the board there is a strong desire at the high school to maintain the last day of school and the graduation date as it currently is. Both are scheduled for May 25.

“Assuming good weather the rest of the year, those are the options you are looking at,” he said, but said if the school district was forced to close for some reason, it would require another conversation.

The district typically hosts its graduation at the Norton Center for the Arts on the campus of Centre College. Board member Susan Matherly asked about the center’s availability beyond May 25 — Look said there were no issues with availability.

May 25 is a Thursday, the week prior to Memorial Day on May 29. Board chairwoman Paige Matthews brought up the concern about possible travel plans for families, citing it as a reason to maintain the 25th as the last day. 

Matherly asked if there was a “downside to using bank time” to replace the missed day.

“Every instructional moment is precious. To therefore say we have done enough instruction is that sort of weird statement,” Look said. “In a school like this, you’re usually expecting to miss multiple days and time banked up. To be a year like this, where the weather has been this cooperative, we feel that using the bank time at this point and time is a safe move.”

The Kentucky Department of Education requires at least 170 instructional days; the district had 171 scheduled. The state also requires 1,062 hours, which the district will be “well above,” said Ed McKinney, director of pupil personnel for the district.

“I’m okay with keeping the calendar as-is, taking the bank time and praying for no blizzard,” said Board member Steve Becker.

Others agreed, approving a decision to use the bank time and maintain the calendar with a no-student, professional development day for teachers on April 28, and the last day of school and graduation as May 25.

Follow Kendra Peek on Twitter, @knpeek.