School District Offers Parents Letter to Use for Cancelled Vacation Plans

Officials for the Kings Park school district have posted a letter on the district's website to assist in explaining cancelled vacation plans to airlines and hotels who may charge fees or refuse refunds for plans made for the cancelled February break.

The Kings Park Board of Education voted last week to begin using days with the February break to make up for time lost due to Hurricane Sandy. School will now be in session on Feb. 19, 20, 21 and 22.

The letter explains how districts on Long Island, like Kings Park, had to make changes to the school calendar to fulfill the obligated 180 days of school and due to the storm, thus changing the February break.

Below is an excerpt from the letter.

I am writing to ask that you consider this information and forego penalties for members of our school community who contact you to make appropriate adjustments to their travel plans for the period of February 16th through 24th, 2013, so that faculty, staff and students may be in school. This action on your behalf will help to relieve the additional stress on these families as they cope with the impact of the hurricane and the extraordinary situation that resulted in this request.

To obtain or read a copy of the letter in its entirety, click here.