LEWISTON – To make up for lost school days from so many winter storms, teacher workshops will be converted to regular school days March 20 and 21 in Lewiston and Auburn.

“I need to build some extra days in the calendar, because traditionally we have more snow days in the spring than we do in the winter,” Lewiston schools Superintendent Leon Levesque said.

If there are no more snow days, the last day of school in Lewiston and Auburn will be June 19. Teacher workshops will be held after June 19.

Alternatives to canceling the workshops were holding school on Saturdays or keeping students in school after June 19. Students going to school in March is sounder educationally, Levesque said, explaining that students’ focus can be tough to maintain on Saturdays or when the buildings are too warm.

“Those buildings are not built for year-round school,” he said. “On some of those hot June days it’s almost unbearable in the afternoon in those buildings. The perspiration’s coming down.”

School officials will seek waivers from Maine Education Commissioner Susan Gendron to allow seniors to graduate on June 6 and 7, as scheduled. Those students would not be required to attend 170 days of classes as mandated by state law.

Graduation preparations, from the ceremony itself to celebrations held by families, have already been planned, Levesque said. “Halls have been rented, people have bought tickets. Diplomas have been ordered with dates. It’s just as bad as a wedding.”

If Gendron grants the waivers, Lewiston’s graduation will be on June 6 and Edward Little High School’s will be on June 7, both at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

Schools in Lewiston-Auburn have had eight snow days this year. Levesque is predicting there’ll be more. “I can feel it in my bones.”

– Bonnie Washuk