photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The Lawrence school board held a business meeting on Monday, March 10, 2025.

Longer days and extra days are among the changes coming to the Lawrence school district calendar after nearly two weeks worth of classes were canceled this year for winter weather.

On Monday, Lawrence school board members received another update on how nearly two weeks’ worth of winter weather cancellations have affected the district’s class time for the 2024-2025 school year. The designated make-up inclement weather day, Monday, April 21, will be a full day of school for all students.

In addition, beginning on Monday, March 24, there will be adjustments to school days throughout the week. There will be 15 minutes added to the end of the school day every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday through the end of the school year for all schools. There will also be the addition of 25 minutes to the end of the school day every Wednesday.

There will also be the addition of one and a half days to the end of the school year by expanding a scheduled half day of school to a full day on Thursday, May 22, and adding an early-dismissal day on Friday, May 23.

Class of 2025 seniors will be expected to attend school for the needed adjustments, a memo in the agenda said. Amended details of the final exam schedule for seniors, which is scheduled for May 15 and 16, will be communicated by the district’s high schools.

School principals will reach out to parents with school-specific schedules and new dismissal times prior to leaving for spring break on March 14.

As the Journal-World reported, the school district has so far used nine inclement weather days — five in January and four in February — after three big winter storms hit Lawrence. Since the first storm in early January, the school district has been providing updates to the board about the status of the calendar.