Burnet CISD adds second day off to eclipse schedule
Burnet students are getting a second day off from school for the April 8 eclipse due to expected heavy traffic from the 30,000 revelers attending the Texas Eclipse festival at nearby Reveille Peak Ranch. The five-day event is April 5-9.
“Due to predicted lingering challenges from the April 8 solar eclipse, Tuesday, April 9, is now a staff and student holiday along with Monday, April 8,” announced Burnet Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Keith McBurnett in a media release. “Staff and students will return to school on Wednesday, April 10.”
Marble Falls ISD will not add a second day off for the eclipse, Superintendent Dr. Jeff Gasaway told DailyTrib.com.
“Burnet has to deal with a large festival at Reveille (Peak) Ranch that won’t affect us as much here,” he said. “With all our research, we feel confident that, like in other places that have experienced this, a lot of the traffic will be cleared out by Tuesday morning.”
Gasaway said MFISD would broadcast a message over the next two weeks asking people to watch for cars and buses and “allow us to get to school.”
“We’ve had this day (Monday, April 8) built into our calendar since December 2022,” he said. “We’ve seen this day coming for over a year and a half. We feel like we are going to get school started and going and have the day (April 9) begin successfully, based on our research.”
The BCISD calendar change was approved by trustees at their regular meeting on Monday, March 25.
Taking the extra holiday required approval of three agenda items, including a request for a waiver from the Texas Education Agency to allow staff development minutes to replace some required minutes of instruction.
The current calendar includes about 1.7 days’ worth of minutes to cover closures and delayed starts. Due to the closure for winter weather on Jan. 15, adding a full day of closure on April 9 would require a full two days’ worth of minutes. The TEA will have to approve the waiver to prevent the need for a makeup day.
The board also approved a second resolution proposed by BCISD Human Resources Director Michele Gilmore to pay staff for the extra day as well as a modified school year calendar granting the extra day.
Before making its decision, the BCISD board discussed cautions from local agencies, the fact that Burnet County has declared a state of emergency during the days before and after the eclipse, and implications for roadway congestion from overwhelming traffic, which will remain in the area on April 9.
“At the high school level, no practices or rehearsals will be held on Monday, April 8, but practices and rehearsals will be held on Tuesday, April 9, on a modified schedule as determined by the coach or director,” the media release stated.