Update on School Closures and the 2025-2026 School Calendar

Dear Garrison School Community,

As we move through the winter season, I’d like to share an update on our snow day usage for the 2025–2026 school year. I recognize that any school closure or delay can be highly disruptive for families, affecting childcare, work schedules, and daily routines. Please know that decisions to delay or close school are made with great care. Each situation involves multiple factors, with the safety of our students and staff always guiding our final decision. 

To date, we have used four (4) snow days or emergency closures this winter, which matches the four (4) closure days built into our district calendar. However, I also want to share that we have received official written confirmation from the New York State Education Department that the February 23, 2026 closure—declared during the State of Emergency—will not count against Garrison for state aid purposes or the 180‑day instructional requirement. As a result, we still have one remaining snow/emergency closure day before we would need to make adjustments to the instructional calendar.

As outlined in our adopted school calendar, if we use more than the one remaining closure day, we will need to convert days from our Spring Recess into instructional days. These days would be converted in the following order:

• March 30, 2026

• March 31, 2026

• April 1, 2026

• April 2, 2026

I will continue to keep you informed as we move through the remainder of the winter season. Thank you for your flexibility, partnership, and understanding as we work to balance the needs of our families with our responsibility to keep our students and staff safe.

Warm regards,

Dr. Greg Stowell

Superintendent