We are happy to see — if for no other reason than to give schools and families some finality –that the Legislature has passed and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed a bill forgiving schools for snow days called during a state-declared winter emergency in late January-early February.

We share the concerns of some critics who worrry that forgiving those days is simply taking important hours of education away from students.

But we also understand it is hard to be a parent who needs to line up summer child care or start summer vacation planning when you don’t know when your kids’ last day of school will be.

The bill hanging in legislative limbo since winter put many parents in a bind, and we are happy to see their questions answered.

After months of wondering (and several more snow days piling up throughout the winter), school districts have finally been able to formally establish the last day of the 2018-19 school year. Hillman schools will let out for summer first, on June 6, and Alpena Public Schools will have the latest start to summer, on June 14.

Even with the snow days forgiven by the new legislation, those last days are several more days into June than schools (and kids!) had hoped when school started in the fall. That could put a damper on families’ hopes for an early start to vacation season.

But we encourage you, dear parents and kids, to stick it out.

On a normal school day, districts must record as “present” 75% of their student body to get credit toward state-required minimum days of instruction. On make-up days, only 60% are needed, but that still means that at least three out of every five parents in the district must keep waking up and putting their kids on the bus into mid-June.

Not only do our students need to soak up as much education as they can, but it’s important for our school districts to get credit for every day.

We know you’re ready for swimming and camping and baseball, but stick it out.

(THE ALPENA NEWS)