District loses five school days in two-week span

Wicked winter weather has created several mini-vacations for Lake Orion students.
In a two-week time span, the district has had to close five times due to road conditions, power outages and bus problems caused by recent bouts of Michigan winter weather.
Most recently, the district was closed on Monday due to bus problems. Superintendent Christine Lehman said the district had every intention of having school that day, but discovered that the extreme cold prevented busses from starting.
‘We’re sorry for the late notice that day,? she added.
According to Lehman, the state does not run on a certain amount of days per say, but on a certain amount of hours. At this point, the district as a whole does not have to make up days, yet.
Lehman said that the state gives the district a certain amount of hours allowed for school closings, and Lake Orion always has extra hours scheduled into their year.
If school closings continue to occur, students make find themselves making up hours at the end of the year.
According to Lehman, the district does their best not to cancel school.
‘We never do it lightly,? she said, noting that for snow days, they have a group of people that drive the roads and are in constant communication so they can make the best decision possible.
Some kindergarten classes at Orion Oaks may have to make up some hours when a pipe break caused them to be cancelled.