Photo: Getty Images
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Unlike the rest of the state, the students at South Hadley High School are still on summer break. It's not a quirk of the schedule, but mold, that's keeping them out of school. The South Hadley High School building has been shuttered since August 31. The mold was discovered on August 30.
South Hadley Schools had intended to open up the high school beginning with remote learning until the issue could be fixed, according to a letter to parents. That decision was apparently overruled by the State's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), which Superintendent Jahmal Mosley later said wouldn't allow the school to start remote. The district is considering applying for a waiver.
The result: an indefinite summer break for high school students in South Hadley, with the possibility for some pain later.
At an online meeting Thursday night, Mosley said the school may not restart until the week of September 20, and that the district is trying to figure out a way to make up the missed school with DESE. Some possibilities include having students come in on Saturdays, or even losing their February break. Mosley cautioned that the ideas were only just being kicked around:
"Now before people get upset, there's nothing set in stone on that," he said.
Still, the students have missed ten days of school so far with no end in sight. Part of the problem has been the damp weather this summer: Mosley said mold clean up crews are in short supply, because everyone else around the state needs them too.
WBZ's John Baibak (@JohnBaibak) reports:
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App
Written by Chaiel Schaffel