NEW ULM - Local schools have been closed for three full days this winter because of wintry weather, following the latest closure Monday.
In addition, school started late on five occasions, and was dismissed early on four occasions, because of severe weather, according to information provided District 88 Superintendent Harold Remme.
The estimated instruction time lost is 41 hours, according to Remme.
It is the most time lost to weather related events in at least a dozen years.
The first three full days of school lost to weather do not need to be made up, according to the public teachers' contract.
However, additional lost time can, and should be, made up, according to Remme.
The school board decides whether to extend the school year.
Last year, the board extended the school year for teachers, but not for students, after three full no-school days were declared during the winter season.
(Had the board extended the school year for students, their last day of school would have fallen on a Monday, which the board deemed pointless.)
However, the three-day threshold has been reached much earlier this winter season this year, compared to last year.