23-04-2025
MCPS students return to classroom instruction
The McLean County Public Schools (MCPS) Board announced during a special-called school board luncheon at noon on Tuesday that students are returning to in-person instruction today — Wednesday, April 23.
Students have been out of the classroom since the beginning of the month following the district's spring break. They were supposed to return to the classroom on April 7, but schools have been closed to in-person learning because of widespread flooding across McLean County.
'Because of the days that we missed previously due to snow, illness and flooding, the district was awarded five extra disaster nontraditional instruction, or NTI, days,' said district Superintendent Tommy Burrough.
Those extra NTI days were granted to districts as needed thanks to the passage of Kentucky House Bill 241.
The bill allowed state Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher to authorize 'up to five disaster relief student attendance days when schools could provide instruction without having students in the classroom.'
Kentucky school districts are typically only allocated 10 NTI days to use during the school year.
MCPS administrators have utilized a combination of those disaster relief NTI days, along with outright school closures, since April 7, having used the final two allotted days during the beginning of the week.
'Obviously student and staff safety (are) our number one priority at the moment,' said Burrough. 'But, even though there are some routes that buses aren't able to take, we have got to get these students back into the classroom so we can finish up this school year.'
MCPS' Transportation Director Ashley Troutman said that roads such as Highway 256 and Highway 1155, along with much of Rumsey, are still underwater.
'So, bus drivers are having to utilize alternate routes to get students to school,' Troutman said. 'We noticed that Fox Hollow Road has been completely destroyed from the floodwater, which affects one student from our district and that parent has agreed to provide transportation until the end of the school year. And then we have students in the area of Highway 256 who are utilizing boats from their homes to Highway 140, where the floodwaters have receded so that they can get to school. Those families are more familiar with this flooding situation and really just get it.'
Burrough said that he has advised all of the school principals to take notice of which students are absent.
'I've told all of the school principals to check in with the students who can't make it into the classroom (Wednesday) to get more of an idea about who all is displaced and who can't make it to school yet,' he said. 'This allows us to know the portion of our students that have been affected and relocated because of the flooding.'
Burrough explained that after adding up all of the days missed, the district's final day of classroom instruction would be Monday, June 9.
'But we have three instruction days built into the calendar as a contingency plan and I suggest utilizing those days so that we can make the last day for students Wednesday, June 4,' Burrough said.
Board members across the panel agreed with the superintendent and voted to utilize those 'banked' days.
Members of the school board also discussed plans for this year's graduation ceremony at McLean County High School (MCHS).
'I think we should hold graduation sooner rather than later,' said school board member Katie Gunterman. 'The students are already having to wait until June to graduate, and I don't think we should put off the ceremony until the weekend.'
Board members should be making a final determination about graduation details during the Thursday evening MCPS school board meeting.
