By Per Peterson
There will be no school this Thursday, so students and staff can follow the Panthers at the team state wrestling tournament if they choose to go.
A fan bus will leave the high school at 5 a.m. Thursday. Elementary students must be accompanied by a parent.
Tracy Area High School Supt. Chad Anderson recommended the schools do not make up that school day, meaning there will not be a student day added to the calendar. Anderson said he had been asked by some about Friday and if there will be school, as that is when the individual portion of the state wrestling tournament begins.
The school board unanimously agreed there should be school Friday.
“We’ve never taken it off for individuals before,” Anderson said. “There are other activities we haven’t taken school off for.”
Anderson said taking another day off would put extra pressure on parents of small children in terms of finding day care for them, but he wanted to bring the issue up at the board meeting to hear the board’s feedback.
“It’s an excused absence (Friday) for those at the tournament; I think you’re spot-on by still having school,” board member Ben Ludeman said.
“I think we should have school,” board member Jay Fultz concurred. “It would be a bad precedent to take school off. We have a lot of individuals who made the tournament, which is fantastic, but to not take the time off for other individuals who make it to state would be a bad precedent.”