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Schools

School year may feel long, but ...

It's not long enough to cram in all the holidays parents want. Which ones make the cut is up to the calendar committee.

By LETITIA STEIN
Published September 22, 2006

TAMPA - Hillsborough parents want a school holiday on Good Friday.

They want three days off for Thanksgiving. And one for Veterans Day.

They aren't interested in ending first semester after the winter holidays. Or in budging from a two-week winter break.

The problem: Parents aren't likely to get everything they told school officials they want in a new survey on the school calendar.

"There's going to have to be some give and take," said Debi Veranth, the administrator overseeing a committee charged with drafting next year's calendar.

The survey was sent in recent weeks to 4,000 parents and 500 school employees. About 1,200 people responded, with a small percentage still being tallied.

The goal was to take the pulse of the community on a topic that flared into controversy last year after the School Board voted to eliminate days off coinciding with several religious holidays. The board later reversed course.

Three-fourths of the people surveyed agree the school calendar should take religious holidays into consideration.

But non-Christian holidays didn't get much support. Only about one-third of respondents support giving days off for the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. In recent years, Hillsborough has given teachers and students a day off for one.

Even fewer people wanted to recognize the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. The fuss over the calendar began when the Muslim community requested a day off for the holiday.

Joan Mulrennan Zaki, a parent on the calendar committee, reviewed the results Thursday.

As a Muslim, she will keep pushing for a day off to recognize her community's celebration.

She also would like to continue with the established Jewish holiday.

But both fall during the first semester of the next school year, which greatly complicates matters.

Under a new state law that restored a more traditional summer break, Hillsborough can start school no earlier than Aug. 20.

To fit in an entire semester before winter break, the district was able to squeeze in 89 school days before Dec. 21, Veranth said. To allow for holidays, it could shorten first semester to 86 days.

"That gives us three days to play with," she said, noting a required professional day for teachers in October. "It appears the majority of the people would like to have the semester end before winter break."

But parents and employees overwhelmingly want three days at Thanksgiving.

And Labor Day off.

And a holiday to recognize Veterans Day.

They also like Columbus Day, though with less ardor.

And they're interested in keeping the traditional two-week winter break.

Second semester doesn't face the same time crunch, but people would like to see some changes.

Giving students a day off to attend the Florida State Fair - or, in east Hillsborough, the Florida Strawberry Festival - isn't popular, the survey found.

But Washington's Birthday, currently not observed, has a strong following.

So does Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is a holiday this year for Hillsborough schools.

In the spring, people want to continue a day off coinciding with Good Friday. They support, although not as strongly, a day off the Monday after Easter.

The survey is one of several pieces of information that will guide the calendar committee, which makes recommendations to superintendent MaryEllen Elia.

The School Board must approve the final calendar.

The committee next meets at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the media center at Chamberlain High School, 9401 N. Boulevard.

People are welcome to attend, but will not be allowed to speak. They can provide comments on forms.

Letitia Stein can be reached at lstein@sptimes.com or 813 226-3400.

[Last modified September 22, 2006, 06:08:16]