February Break 'Serious Consideration' For School Makeup Days

Hurricane Sandy and the mess left in her wake last month caused students attending Garden City public schools to miss at least five days of school due to a continued power outage.

“Many school districts throughout Long Island and New York State were affected by closures and the loss of instructional time due to Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath," superintendent of schools Dr. Robert Feirsen said.

The storm hit Tuesday, Oct. 30 and wreaked havoc with prolonged outages due to an exorbitant amount of downed trees.

Public school students returned to school on Tuesday, Nov. 6 - with the exception of Garden City middle schoolers and students attending Hemlock School. Both buildings were still experiencing the effects of the storm and could not open.

Hemlock students returned to class for the first time since Sandy on Wednesday, Nov. 7, reporting to Stratford and Stewart schools.

Due to continued issues related to the storm at Garden City Middle School, students didn't return to school until Tuesday, Nov. 13 and missed a total of 10 days of instruction (Monday, Nov. 12 was Veterans Day and schools were closed).

“Garden City’s Board of Education is currently considering its options," Dr. Feirsen told Patch. "Although no decision has been reached yet the February break is receiving serious consideration."

New York State law requires 180 days of instruction, but Dr. Feirsen said the State Education Department (SED) can excuse up to 5 days “due to extraordinary circumstances.”

He said these issues were addressed in a recent Severe Weather memo from the SED.

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