Why this isn’t the right way to give back unused snow days in NJ

Maybe not all, but most school districts in New Jersey have built in snow days. And this goes back as long as I can remember.

In fact, I remember when I was still in school with certain years that didn't have any snow days at all. We loved it because that meant getting done with school even sooner.

I've always thought that that was how it worked in every district. If you don't use the built-in snow days, you get out of school earlier. It's just that simple.

But what I've learned living in New Jersey is this. Not all school districts operate the same way.

Case in point. The school district my kids go to was among the lucky ones that didn't have to use their built-in snow days. Unfortunately for us, our district isn't changing when the last day of school will be.

What are they doing?

Instead, they're extending Memorial Day weekend by two additional days. And although that might be OK for some, I personally don't think this is the right way to give back those snow days.

For one, Memorial Day weekend is already toward the end of the year as-is. Yes, it's nice to have an extended holiday break, but I don't see the point.

If it were spring break, then I could see it a little more since there's still a couple of months to go once that break ends. And usually, you wouldn't have accumulating snow happening so late into the season.

But Memorial Day is different. At that point, doesn't it make more sense to just have that Monday off and get to the end of the year? It's only a couple of more weeks at that point, so why not just move the last day up?

I don't know if this is going to be a popular opinion, but it's my thoughts. If we're almost at summer break, just move the last day up with those unused snow days instead of extending the Memorial Day weekend.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.