Detour Aside, 2022-23 School Year Begins With Nice Flow In Vernon

VERNON, CT — Students returned to public schools in Vernon Thursday during what Superintendent of Schools Joseph Macary said was a pretty smooth day to start the 2022-23 academic year.

Masks were optional, cafeterias were open and it all felt "normal," he said, referring the the past two school years full of coronavirus-related restrictions. A new sign at Vernon Center Middle School encouraged everyone to "do what's right," and Macary said the first day certainly felt that way.

The one glitch in the system in terms of smoothness was the bridge work on Dart Hill Road that forced eight bus routes to change their courses — two for Skinner Road School, and three each for Vernon Center Middle School and Rockville High School. With the bridge out, the buses had to take the long ways around to Windsorville Road, then the Five Corners Roundabout and then to Skinner Road School or the reverse for RHS and VCMS.

"But that's nothing we can control," Macary said. "We just have to deal with it."

The bridge work is expected to last well into the fall.

Students will have access to breakfast and lunches free of charge until the end of December as part of a federal program. After that, the town's three free-and-reduced meal schools — Maple Street, Northeast and Skinner — will still have them as part of an older, ongoing federal program, Macary said.

Enrollment was up by 20 students as of Thursday Macary said. Here is the breakdown:

• Center Road School: 461
• Lake Street School: 262
• Maple Street School: 264
• Northeast School: 212
• Skinner Road School: 313
• Vernon Center Middle School: 686
• Rockville High School: 945