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Board restores religious holidays
In a 5-2 vote tonight, the Hillsborough School Board embraced the recommendation by superintendent MaryEllen Elia.
By MELANIE AVE
Published November 8, 2005
TAMPA -- After listening to passionate speeches about God, country, children and tradition, the Hillsborough School Board restored some religious holidays to next year's school calendar, reversing a 2-week-old decision that garnered national attention.
By a 5-2 vote Tuesday, the board adopted a school calendar similar to the existing one, that gives children days off on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the Christian Good Friday and the Monday following Easter.
Board members embraced superintendent MaryEllen Elia's recommendation to restore the holidays and study the issue further. They said it was the best way to focus on education instead of the school calendar.
"There is so much emotion around this," said board member Carolyn Bricklemyer, who reversed her vote but admitted she still felt conflicted. "I never wanted to be a part of anything this divisive."
Exactly two weeks ago, a majority of board members approved a calendar that no longer tied vacation days to religious holidays. The religious days were replaced with time off for Washington's birthday in February and two days near the end of the school year.
The decision came nearly one year after a Muslim group asked that all students be given a day off for Eid al-Fitr, the end of the 30-day fasting period of Ramadan.
[Last modified November 8, 2005, 21:03:03]
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