KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

Now that Tullahoma City Schools students returned to the classroom this past Wednesday after being out for a week due to the winter weather, the question is how they will make up for the lost days.

TCS students ended up with a full week from school, with Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday, Jan. 15, and the school district’s decision to cancel school for a consecutive six days due to Tullahoma accumulating seven inches of snow, as well as below-freezing temperatures preventing both the snow and ice from melting, making many roads and neighborhoods in Tullahoma hazardous for drivers.

Since all schools were closed for six days, the school system has exhausted all of its built-in days off. According to TCS officials, the school district, like all other school districts in Tennessee, have 13 stockpiled days every school year. For TCS, it uses 10.5 of the 13 stockpiled days for professional learning through the early release at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays, which leaves TCS with 2.5 stockpile days in reserve for inclement weather, illness, etc.

“With the 2.5 days we have set aside and now used, the district is forced to make up 3.5 days,” TCS officials said in a statement to The News. “To make up for those days, we will have to end the 1 p.m. days sooner rather than later. Those changes will be communicated to parents once a decision has been made.”

While historically TCS has not used the majority of its built-in days off, this is not the first time it had exhausted its stockpile days. Over the last few years, widespread illnesses like the cold and flu, caused schools to close for the day or two as the custodial staff deep-cleaned facilities while both students and teachers recovered at home. As for weather causing school closures, in 2021 TCS had exhausted all of its available days after being closed for four consecutive days due to the hazardous road conditions and below-freezing temperatures.