With perhaps a third of Ohio districts already out of snow days, Gov. John Kasich and the legislature are working toward allowing school districts to close more days this year amid the seemingly relentless cycle of arctic weather. GOP House members Tony Burkley of Payne and Brian Hill of Zanesville filed a proposal with the clerk's office yesterday that would increase the number of what are officially dubbed "calamity days" that a school district can use this year from five to nine days.

With perhaps a third of Ohio districts already out of snow days, Gov. John Kasich and the legislature are working toward allowing school districts to close more days this year amid the seemingly relentless cycle of arctic weather.

GOP House members Tony Burkley of Payne and Brian Hill of Zanesville filed a proposal with the clerk�s office yesterday that would increase the number of what are officially dubbed �calamity days� that a school district can use this year from five to nine days. They had been working on the measure before Kasich�s call yesterday morning for the legislature to add an unspecified number of days.

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�I expect hearings will start in the very near future on this bill,� as early as Wednesday, said Mike Dittoe, a spokesman for Republican House Speaker William G. Batchelder of Medina.

John McClelland, a spokesman for GOP Senate President Keith Faber, said Republicans would discuss the issue in a caucus meeting today.

With frigid temperatures this week already causing more school closings, Burkley said in a statement that �approximately a third of the state�s school districts have already used five or more calamity days, and the winter is far from over.�

Kasich said �giving schools a few extra snow days this year will be helpful and let everyone stay focused on the top priority when weather hits, keeping kids safe.�

The governor wants the Department of Education to work with the legislature to determine the right number of calamity days to add. John Charlton, a spokesman for the Education Department, said Cambridge City Schools, where his children go in Guernsey County, will have its ninth calamity day today.

Many central Ohio schools districts have one or two calamity days remaining. Columbus City Schools will use its fourth calamity day today, according to a district spokesman.

Subzero cold, wind shut area schools

If schools go beyond their allotted five bad-weather days, they can make up no more than three through �blizzard bags� or online lessons, but those take-home lessons need to be approved in advance by the Department of Education.

This is the last year schools must be in session for 175 days. Next year, they will start an hourly minimum depending on the grade � 1,001 hours for grades seven to 12, 910 hours for full-day kindergarten through sixth grade, and 455 hours for students in half-day kindergarten. Most schools exceed that minimum, giving them more flexibility when it comes to taking time off for bad weather or other emergencies.

While most of the notices for today�s closures went out yesterday afternoon and were publicized well in advance, school districts are turning to text messages, email or robo-calls to get the word quickly and directly to faculty and staff members, students and parents.

Bexley schools, for example, use a service called One Call Now that allows the district to call, text and email people, said spokeswoman Amy Thompson. The annual cost is $3,257 for the district of about 2,100 students, and officials can use the service in both emergency and non-emergency situations.

Snow rollers appear in central Ohio

Other districts pay between $5,000 and $19,000 for systems that provide similar services. The larger the district, the higher the cost. New Albany and Whitehall pay a little more than $5,000 a year for theirs. Dublin pays about $19,000.

Some colleges and communities use such services, too, for weather alerts or traffic problems, such as road closings. Granville Township, for example, uses Blackboard Connect to allow residents to sign up for the service and receive alerts by text, email or voice message; or all three.

Columbus City Schools pays $90,000 a year for a robo-dialing service that allows the district to make up to 60,000 phone calls in about 20 minutes, using up to 500 outgoing phone lines simultaneously, district spokesman Jeff Warner said. On a normal day, the service typically provides 150 lines.

Dispatch Reporters Charlie Boss and Bill Bush contributed to this story.

jvardon@dispatch.com

@joevardon