Politics & Government

Board Chooses School Calendar for 2012-13, Sets Tentative Graduation Date for 2011

Survey showed little interest in a March break, but preference for length of February vacation was divided.

After much debate, the school board voted 6-1 on Tuesday night for a 2012-13 calendar that starts before Labor Day and incorporates a full week of vacation in both February and April.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Karen List also set a tentative graduation date of Thursday, June 16, for 2011. The date will be confirmed on April 1, List said, assuming there are no more snow days.

This year's school calendar scrapped the full week of vacation in February in favor of a four-day weekend, which worked to the town's benefit when it was forced to close school for six days due to snow. The final day of school this year will be June 20.

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The calendar already approved for 2011-12 had restored the full week of February vacation, and several board members said they were reluctant to "flip-flop" from one year to the next.

"I am a big advocate for consistency," board member Terry Schmitt said. "I kind of hope that we have at least set the conceptual framework."

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Bruce Putterman, though he was the only board member to oppose the full week in February, said he hoped the board would not even consider a four-day February break next year so that parents could count on a consistent schedule.

The results of a school board survey — with more than 3,000 responses — made it clear that the community was not interested in a March break instead of the traditional February and April vacations. Several board members said they were contacted by working parents who talked about the difficulty of finding camp programs or babysitters if the district's breaks didn't line up with that of other towns.

Seventy percent of those responding to the survey also said they supported a pre-Labor Day start. The results were about evenly divided — with 30 percent each — on two of the five calendar options. One offered a pre-Labor Day start and a full week off in February, with a final day of school of June 17, barring any snow days. The other option offered a pre-Labor Day start, a four-day break in February, and a final day of school of June 12, barring any snow days. The district averages three snow days per year, List said.

When board members asked about absenteeism during this year's short February break, List responded that absences were three times the normal level at the elementary level just before and after the four-day break, and two times the normal level at the high school.

 


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