Dear North Colonie Community,
All the area forecasters are predicting a major winter storm that is expected to impact our area throughout the day. The combination of heavy, wet snow and high winds makes this a particular dangerous storm, and in her press conference yesterday morning, Governor Hochul emphasized the possibility of “widespread power outages over a large geographic area.” Due to this severe weather, both Governor Hochul and County Executive McCoy have declared states of emergency.
The safety of our students and staff is our top priority, so we will close our school buildings today, March 14, 2023. Additionally, due to the declared states of emergency and the concerns over power outages, we will not have remote learning. Today will simply be a traditional snow day.
The district will not be penalized for not being in session today, nor will any of our upcoming vacation days be impacted, as the New York State Department of Education rules allow a waiver when a state of emergency has been declared and local conditions are poor: “The Commissioner may also disregard a deduction for any day or days on which session had been previously scheduled, but the superintendent was required to close the school or schools due to a properly executed declaration of a state or local state of emergency.”
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Please know that next year‘s school calendar will have four snow days and we will keep with our practice of first using snow days as traditional snow days, and will only move to remote instructional days if we exhaust all four snow days.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in these challenging times.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Skeals, Superintendent