VIRGINIA, MINN. — The Rock Ridge School Board canceled school for all grades Wednesday through Friday, March 13-15, citing multiple local youth sports teams' advancement to their respective state tournaments.
Board members were all smiling as they approved cancelling classes for three days this week at their meeting Monday evening. The meeting attendees clapped and cheered.
“Oh, thank goodness,” a student board member said.
The Rock Ridge girls basketball team was set to play Alexandria at the University of Minnesota Wednesday afternoon. A fan bus is hauling seventh through twelfth graders to the game and may head down again for another game Thursday. Two youth hockey teams also made their state tournaments and will be playing in Buffalo and Proctor this week.
Many teachers and staff said they wanted to attend the state tournaments at a work session before the School Board meeting, and board members said the difficulty finding substitutes was a reason for the cancellation decision.
But while students and staff may be excited to cheer for the Wolverines this week, some parents expressed concerns about the short notice and lack of information about child care options for families not attending the games.
The district notified parents Tuesday morning that there would be day care services at the elementary schools from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day, though there would be no transportation or food services.