by Olivia P. Tucker
Times Reporter
Scott County School District 1 Board of Trustees agreed at their regular meeting on April 17 to change some dates of the 2023-2024 school calendar in anticipation of a solar eclipse occuring on April 8, 2024.
The last time there was a solar eclipse was in August 2017 and the amount of traffic and people stopping on the sides of the road to view the eclipse is a concern.
Columbus, in nearby Bartholomew County, is the location that will be in total darkness from the eclipse and will last longer than 3 minutes. The surrounding areas will still be impacted but not as long. The eclipse is to start at 3:06 p.m., said District 1 Superintendent Trevor Jones.
“The biggest concern is that is close to the time school is released and it would leave kids unmonitored to safely make it home,” said School Board President David Deaton.
The previous snow makeup day of April 19 will be a school day and will instead be no school on April 8 due to the eclipse.
Jones told the board that election day was left out of the 2023-2024 calendar and that school will not be in session on May 7, 2024. This change affects the day the school year ends which will now be Friday, May 24 along with graduation, and the last day for SCSD1 teachers will be May 28.
SCSD1 Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to the changes to the 2023-2024 school year calendar.