Schools announce snow makeup days after storms

The unexpected joy of a snow day is inevitably replaced by the drudgery of making up the missed day. The San Juan School District has announced how local students will make up the snow and mud days caused by recent storms.
Many students missed much of a two-week period after record-breaking storms hit the area. Schools in Monument Valley, Bluff and Montezuma Creek were particularly hard hit, while schools in the northern portion of the school district missed a single day.
“We have probably had six to eight snow days during my entire 30-year career in the San Juan School District,” said Superintendent Doug Wright. “To double that in the past two weeks is amazing.”
All students in the district will attend school on Monday, April 6. That day was reserved on the school schedule if there was a need for a single makeup day.
Schools in the Montezuma Creek and Bluff areas were closed for seven days during the storm and the subsequent mud season. The schools will be open on Saturday, March 21; Friday, April 3; Monday, April 6 and Tuesday through Friday, May 26 to 29. There is no early release on the Friday if school is planned the following day, on Saturday.
Schools in the Monument Valley area were closed for eight days during the storm. The Monument Valley Schools will be open on Saturday, March 21; Saturday, March 28; Friday, April 3; Monday, April 6 and Tuesday through Friday, May 26-29. There is no early release on the Friday if school is planned the following day, on Saturday.
In other matters at the March 2 meeting of the San Juan School Board, the board formally approved the hiring of Kyle Hosler as the district business administrator. Hosler was offered a three-month contract through June 30 and a two-year contract beginning July 1, 2015. The superintendent and business administrator are employed on two-year contracts with the school board. Hosler takes the place of Clayton Holt, who resigned in December, 2014 to become the CEO of the San Juan Health Service District.
Lewis Whitaker was announced as the new principal at Monticello High School. Whitaker has served as the interim principal since November, 2014, after the resignation of Principal Scott Shakespeare.
Whitaker had served as Assistant Principal for the previous two years. He has worked in the San Juan School District for eight years, including teaching English and Spanish at Monument Valley and Monticello high schools.
The new assistant principal is Kevin (KC) Olson. Olson is currently working for the Washington County School District at Lava Ridge Intermediate School as a Special Education teacher and Positive Behavior Intervention Coach.
Olson has a wide range of experience in the classroom and in the world, including military service in the Middle East.
Chas DeWitt, who has been an administrator in the school district for the past 12 years, announced that he has accepted a position in the Alpine School District. DeWitt most recently served as the principal at Albert R Lyman Middle School in Blanding.
The board meeting was held in La Sal, and the board heard reports from Shelly Thayn, the lead teacher in La Sal, and from Ron Nielson, the supervisor of primary schools in the district.