Schools

2012-2013 School Calendar Approved

School begins Sept. 6, ends June 20.

The 2012-2013 school will begin Sept. 6, end June 20, and allow for two snow days, after the Board of Education approved its school calendar for next school year.

The calendar passed with an 8 to 1 vote, with board member Marc Rosenberg voting against it. The vote on it had been postponed from January, to all board members to further analyze the document.

According to the approved calendar, students will be off on Sept. 17 and 26 for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and off Nov. 5-9 for teacher in-service days on Nov. 5-7 and NJEA convention on the Nov. 8-9.  Students in grades kindergarten through sixth will have half days on Nov. 16 through 20th for parent-teacher conferences, while students in grades seven through 12 will have half days Nov. 19-20 for conferences. Nov. 21 will also be a half-day, and Thanksgiving break will be Nov. 22-23.

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Winter recess is scheduled for Dec. 24-31, and schools will be closed on New Years Day, Jan. 1. Spring recess is scheduled for March 25 through 29.

In addition, the district will not be off senior prom day in 2013, a sticking point during the initial discussion.

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If the district’s two snow days are not used, schools will be closed on May 24 and May 28.  If additional snow days are needed, the first date to make those up would be March 25. Additional snow make-up days would be determined at the Board’s discretion.

But the lack of snow days and the early graduation date concerned Rosenberg, who voted against the calendar.

“I recognize how difficult this has been,” Rosenberg said. “I cannot support the calendar the way it is. Two snow days is a very dangerous thing. To tell the public that, if we have a bad winter, we’re going to take days away from Spring Break after a few options is exhausted is a very risky move and it didn’t have to be.”

Rosenberg suggested other options for the graduation date, including holding it on a weekend or at a later date.

“We could have graduated on the 21st, on Friday,” Rosenberg said. “We could have graduated on a weekend, which would have been easier for many families to attend. We could have graduated on the following Monday and given ourselves the flexibility that we need to avoid what could be a very bad situation if we have a bad winter.”

But the Friday option could conflict with religious obligations, particularly if the graduation lasts until after sundown, board member Greg Gillette noted. The district does not typically hold graduation on a Monday since it would have to open after students have already been gone for the weekend.


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