This week’s winter storm has cost students Wednesday’s early release to kick start their Christmas break.

At a special-called meeting Wednesday evening the Stanly County Board of Education voted to amend the scheduled early release into a full day. School officials are looking for ways to recoup hours lost from missed instructional days due to this week’s inclement weather.

Another scheduled early release for March 29 has also been amended to a full day for students.

There still remains the issue of at least two days missed due to flooding from a pair of hurricanes in September. School leaders are waiting to see if the state plans to exempt those days lost due to the magnitude of the widespread devastation.

Plans also call for a parental survey about future make-up days. One option for parents includes adding 15 minutes to each school day to make-up for lost time or attend classes on Saturdays.

Students have already missed school due to the recent winter storm and the hurricanes and the winter season has yet to begin. If students miss more days due to inclement weather, future make-up days could become increasingly problematic.

Facing make-up days so early in the school year has again prompted school leaders to appeal to the Board of County Commissioners about lobbying state legislators for more flexibility with school calendars.

Stanly County Schools Superintendent Jeff James advised the board he would prefer to start the school year on the first Monday in August.