The Oak Harbor School Board was remiss in signing on to an administration plan to cut this school year short by one day.

This high-level version of skipping school was made possible when the governor declared an emergency after the big snow storm in December. Why a few days of snow and cold constituted an “emergency” is a separate issue, but the governor’s declaration allowed affected school districts to seek exemption from the traditional 181-day school calendar by applying for a waiver.

The waiver request now goes to the State Board of Education. We recommend the request be denied. The snow storm caused minimal inconvenience in Oak Harbor and doesn’t deserve emergency treatment. So a couple of days of school were missed, big deal.

Students in this state traditionally spend 181 days in school, come snow, high water or teacher strikes. A few years ago Marysville students studied well into July to reach their 181 days after the teachers walked out. Good for them.

Oak Harbor’s school calendar shows that by skipping one day of the school year, classes will end Friday, June 15 rather than Monday, June 18. In other words, the sacred 181 day school year will be violated for the convenience of another three-day weekend. This hardly sends the kind of message our children should be hearing about the importance of education and following through until the job is completed.