The President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils says vacation time and sports tournaments are not to blame for continued chronic absenteeism in the school system.

Don Coombs is echoing concerns raised last year by Child and Youth Advocate Jackie Lake Kavanagh who highlighted alarming rates of children who simply aren’t attending school for a variety of reasons.

Coupled with that are worries this year about time lost because of #Snowmageddon and subsequent snow days.

Coombs says while the school board has ways to deal with lost instruction time due to weather disruptions, absenteeism remains a serious concern.

He suggests it’s going to take more than just the school board and Federation of School Councils to address the problem. He says it’s going to take partnerships with various departments to properly deal with the issue.