Manchester Board Approves School Calendar Change

MANCHESTER, NJ — Manchester Township students will finish the 2018-2019 school year on Friday, June 21, after the Board of Education approved a change to the calendar to make up for Monday's emergency day off.

Manchester Township was forced to close its schools Monday after the overnight storm left some of the schools without power for several hours.

Superintendent David Trethaway on Monday said JCP&L officials could not predict when power would be restored, and between the lack of power, downed power lines and traffic lights that were not operating and creating hazardous situations, the decision was made first to delay school and then close the schools altogether.

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All school districts are required to be in session for 180 days under state law, but the last day of school frequently fluctuates in April in most school districts. Some include emergency closure days — commonly referred to as snow days — and others do not. Districts typically wait until snow is no longer likely to cause an emergency closure to finalize the calendar.

Manchester did not have emergency closure days included in its calendar, and with spring break starting on Friday, the decision was made to add the day to the end of the year.

The last day of school is typically a half-day.

Manchester isn't the first district to face a late-year emergency closure that impacted the final weeks of the school year; last spring, Central Regional students had a Saturday school day in June after a power outage forced the schools in neighboring Berkeley Township to close less than four hours into the school day in early May. And in 2013, a number of school districts shortened spring break and extended the school year after the state refused to grant a waiver when districts lost two weeks of instructional time as a result of Superstorm Sandy.

Manchester Township Middle School and High School will hold their graduation ceremonies on June 21, the district said. High school graduation is set for 6:30 p.m., according to the district's website.

Note: This article has been updated to include the 180-day state requirement and information on other districts impacted by late or unusual emergency closures.

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