Ice storm jumbles school calendars

Districts consider weekend sessions

Trees coated with ice were reflected in a puddle on Woodland Road in Holden on Dec. 12, after last month's ice storm left many in the region without power. (Globe Staff Photo / John Tlumacki)

The tree limbs have been cleared, the power restored, and the emergency shelters turned back into schools, but the effects of an ice storm last month that forced the closure of schools and left thousands without power for as long as two weeks lingers.

School districts that were in the path of the storm on Dec. 11 and 12 are being pressed to absorb the resulting snow days in their calendars, rather than request a waiver of the required 180-day school year. And a petition drive that calls on officials in several towns to do away with Unitil, the New Hampshire-based power company, has gained thousands of signatures as residents complain the company was slow in restoring power.

Mitchell D. Chester, the commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, met yesterday with about a dozen superintendents of school districts in the north central region of the state. Heidi Guarino, the department's chief of staff, said: "He's not considering any waiver requests. It's time to look at the calendar and be creative." Andre Ravenelle, the Fitchburg schools superintendent, attended the meeting, and said, "We're all used to circumstances where it's not 'Can you do that?' but 'How are you going to do that?' "

The district has accumulated nine snow days so far and is looking at holding class on days that were scheduled for professional development and vacation, as well as weekends.

Chester said he may loosen his stand on allowing waivers if another storm wallops the area and causes more snow days. Ravenelle said a lot of the conversation at yesterday's meeting focused on that possibility. "But it's clear we're not operating on the what-ifs," he said. "We are dedicated to looking at how to make up those days."

While Ravenelle reworks the school calendar, residents in Fitchburg and other cities and towns are continuing to voice discontentment with Unitil, the electric company that provides power to about 28,000 customers in the region. Many homes went without power for more than a week.

City Councilor Jody M. Joseph of Fitchburg said a hearing will be held Jan. 21 for residents to air their grievances. Joseph said residents are frustrated with Unitil for "a combination of reasons." He sat in a parking lot in Fitchburg on Sunday and collected about 300 signatures for the petition. About 4,700 signatures have been collected, including those obtained online.

Joseph said the school district would not be scrambling to fill the required school days if the electricity had been up and running earlier. "Our middle school was a shelter for over a week," he said, "so nobody went to school. And even if it was open, there were a lot of families without power who sent their children to relatives' homes in other parts of the state or even out-of-state, so many of the students were not even in the area to attend school because of the power outages."

George Gantz, senior vice president of Unitil, responded to the petition drive, saying "This was a really tough situation for the company and also the customers who were out of power, and we understand the level of frustration. It's certainly an understandable reaction."

Gantz said Unitil has been evaluating its response to the ice storm and is focused on providing improved service in the event of a similar storm.

"Any time a community has a major disaster . . . it obviously disrupts the normal activities," he said. "In this case, there were shelters at a lot of school facilities. It's one of those unfortunate fallouts of a major disaster, but the community did a tremendous job." He said Unitil officials have met with, and will continue to meet with, representatives of the towns and cities affected.

Holden, another town hard hit by the ice storm, is reworking its school year to fit in nine snow days. Without the revision, school would end on July 2 rather than its current last day, June 26. A professional development day, on March 20, and a Spring Recess Day, on April 10, will probably become regular school days under a revised calendar crafted by Thomas G. Pandiscio, superintendent of Wachusett Regional School District.

Mary Vargas of Holden, who went without power for seven days, said yesterday that she sympathizes with the schoolchildren who may have to spend weekends in class to make up snow days caused by the ice storm. "I know of some people who had to use the shelters at the high school, so it was for a good cause," she said. "Everybody feels for the kids, but they'll get through it."