BANGOR — Frequent snowstorms are causing headaches for education administrators in Maine who have called off school multiple times and are struggling to squeeze in the required number of classroom days for the year.

Under state law, Maine schools must hold 175 days of classes per year. Most schools allot three to four snow days in their calendars. This year, many schools across the state already have hit or exceeded that limit, with a lot of winter left.

That means administrators will need to get creative or keep students in class into the summer break.

Regional School Unit 13 in the Rockland area already amassed nine snow days as of Thursday. The district only planned for five, according to Superintendent John McDonald.

“We have rescheduled a teacher workshop day in March to be an early release day, so that leaves us with three days to make up,” McDonald said. “We will be making further decisions on makeup days after February break, and I hope the weather patterns settle down just a bit by the end of the month.”

Winter is far from over, with another major snowstorm expected to hit Maine on Sunday. Fortunately, many schools are on break next week.

McDonald said one option that has been considered by his district is to seek a waiver from the state. Schools have that option if they cannot meet the required number of instructional days. But waivers are not granted liberally, according to Department of Education spokeswoman Samantha Warren.

“This is Maine. Snow days are a part of life here,” she said recently in an email. When those snow days hit, schools are expected to figure out ways to make up the difference.

“We generally do not approve waivers until it is clear that a school truly cannot make up the time, which is hard to say when it’s only the start of February and there are plenty of opportunities to do so in the coming months,” Warren said.

Bangor, which has had four snow days — exceeding its planned three — likely will turn a March 6 teacher in-service day into an instructional day, according to Superintendent Betsy Webb. With more snow days will come more schedule changes.

Brewer, which has used up all three of its planned snow days plus two extra, expects to extend its school calendar by two days in June, according to Superintendent Jay McIntire. Brewer High School is behind an additional day after missing two days of classes at the start of the year because of construction at the school. One of those days was made up through an earlier schedule adjustment, McIntire said.

Portland schools have had six snow days but aren’t in dire straights because they schedule 180 days for instruction instead of the required 175, according to Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk. Thus far, Portland only has one day to make up.

Alternative Organizational Structure 77, comprising 10 snowbound towns around Eastport, has seen five snow days, which is what the board planned for. Earlier this month, Eastport set the statewide 10-day snowfall record at 76 inches.

Stearns High School in Millinocket plans on pushing its graduation date from June 7 to June 14, giving administrators more time to build in however many makeup days they might need.

More major storms could prompt some districts to get creative — cutting into vacation time, tacking on days at the end of the school year or even having Saturday school days.

Administrators say they’re keeping fingers — and toes — crossed that Mother Nature starts to ease up.