BETHEL, Maine (AP)   A school district in Maine will lengthen the school day by an hour for the next month to make up for time lost because of snow days.

David Murphy, superintendent of the Bethel-area school district, says Thursday was his district’s ninth school day of the year. WGME-TV reports his district includes four schools and to combat the large amount of snow days, Murphy’s district will be extending school days by an hour for the next 25 days.

Murphy says the district will recoup five snow days by doing this, and students won’t have to still be in school by late June.

He says the district added an hour to 25 school days last year, and the plan worked well.