Two less days at spring break and one less planning day for staff in Caldwell County Schools is the result of three visits from Old Man Winter in less than two months.

Students and staff missed three days of class during the week of Feb. 1 due to snow, sleet and hazardous road conditions. About 20 inches of snow has blanketed Caldwell County since mid-December, including twice in less than a week. Students were dismissed from school early on Friday, Dec. 18 due to the first snowfall, and they missed Feb. 1, Feb. 2 and Feb. 5 due to the most recent weather pattern.

On Monday, Caldwell County Superintendent Dr. Steve Stone said the school system will operate on a regular schedule on Monday, Feb. 15, Thursday, April 8 and Friday, April 9 to make up for the missed days. He said attendance will be mandatory since the days are part of the normal 180-day calender.

“We have four available snow days left in the calendar, and we have chosen to use them in the order which they fall on the calendar,” Stone said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have much flexibility when it comes to days we can use as snow days, but these three days were built into the calender when it was approved last year.”

Stone said that if a fourth day of school is missed this year due to snow, students will have to attend class on Memorial Day. He also noted that while attending school for a half-day on Saturday is an option, he considers that a last resort. He said attendance is never favorable on those days for students or staff, and scheduling can be difficult since students are not allowed to attend school more than five days per week.

In addition, Stone said the calender may be extended if additional days are needed, which is exactly what Caldwell Early College High School and Caldwell Career Center Middle College will do this year.

To make up their three missed days, students at the Early and Middle College will attend class Thursday, March 11, Monday, May 24 and Tuesday, May 25. The last day of school originally was going to be Friday, May 21.

In other news, the Caldwell School Board placed several athletic policies on the Web site for a one-month comment period.

The first policy, concerning interscholastic coaches, is a new policy. It proposes that all coaches should be faculty members at the school where they coach, and they must be trained and made aware of the policies, goals and rules of athletics in Caldwell County. If no faculty members are willing or able to coach a team, the policy states that other qualified Caldwell County Schools employees would be asked to coach. If, and only if, system employees are unavailable will a community volunteer be chosen. The proposed policy also states that all coaches must sign and adhere to a code of conduct, and a background check will be required for any non-faculty or volunteer coach at their own expense.

Another policy that is being revised is the student eligibility policy. As proposed, this policy would require students who transfer in the sixth grade to sit out during the seventh grade, and those who transfer into a high school are ineligible for one calender year upon enrollment. The updated policy also adds a clause that requires students who attend the Early or Middle College to participate in athletics at their home school district.

The only exception to these proposed rules is if the student’s parent is employed at the school.

Complete copies of each policy are available online at www.caldwellschools.com. Comments can be left for the next 30 days, and school board members will take action on the policies during their March meeting.

In other news:

• Board members adopted an agreement with Caldwell County Pathways to complete the final 1,400-foot connection of the Greenway to Pine Mountain Road between Hudson Elementary and Hudson Middle schools. This project will not cost Caldwell County Schools any money during the construction phase or to maintain it.

• The board approved three budget amendments, including: A $64,623 increase to the State Public School Fund for interest, substitute reimbursement and transportation funding; a $155,400 decrease to the Federal Grants Fund due to a correction for the Department of Public Instruction for the School Improvement Grant; and an even transfer in the Capital Outlay Fund for the purchase of two four-wheel drive trucks.

• Board member Tim Hawkins recognized the Clergy Crisis Support Team of Caldwell County, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in March.

• Board member Linda Coffey recognized the students whose artwork is on display at the Education Center throughout February.

• The board approved 15 transfer requests, which brings the total for the 2009-2010 school year to 491.