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DOWAGIAC — On Monday, Dowagiac Union Schools decided to keep its spring break dates as is.

After receiving mixed messages from the state about if schools are required to move spring breaks, Dowagiac Union Schools Superintendent Jonathan Whan confirmed spring break would begin Friday, April 3 and last until Sunday, April 12.

Amid coronavirus concerns, school officials are hoping all students will return to in-person schooling on Monday, April 13.

At a Dowagiac Board of Education meeting, Whan said there had been no clarification from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state legislators on the consequences of not moving spring break dates to align with other schools in Michigan.

“I finally reached a point this afternoon,” Whan said on Monday. “Unless they are going to give us clear guidance, we are not changing our calendar.”

Whan said changing spring break dates would be difficult for staff, students and the community.

On Monday, parents and staff received communications about the spring break decision.

With the coronavirus closing down all Michigan schools this Monday, Whan said he had had positive conversations with the leadership of the schools’ employee groups, including teacher groups and support staff.

“I’d say we responded pretty well, pretty quickly and pretty smoothly,” Whan said. “It’s been a good team effort and process, and I am very appreciative of that.”

Also, beginning on Monday, the school district provided free meals to students. The same model used during the summer is now providing students with breakfast and lunch during the school closure.

Whan said the first couple of stops on the program had a bigger turnout than during the summer months, which he considered positive.

The program intends for students to pick up a meal beginning at 11 a.m. They will receive breakfast and lunch. The breakfast is designed to be used for the following morning, while the lunch is for that day.

“The opportunity is for students to get five breakfasts and five lunches during the week,” Whan said.

The program will continue until the district’s spring break, which is when a natural break would have occurred.

As Dowagiac makes its decision regarding spring break, state legislatures are scheduled to meet today to discuss a plan for the mandatory amount of school days.

By law, school districts in Michigan have to offer at least 1,098 hours of instruction per year during a minimum of 180 days.

If nothing were to change and spring break dates were kept as planned, Dowagiac schools would be 14 instructional days short of the required 180 days.

Whan believed Dowagiac’s two snow days could come into play, but added the district could have possible fog days in the future.

“The best piece of advice I can give is, we survived last year’s cold streaks of multiple days,” Whan said. “It’s the same model and will probably be something similar. We got through that, and we are going to get through this and life will continue.”

The school plans to make more decisions surrounding spring break if Whitmer or state legislators were to mandate schools to change spring break dates or face possible