Hillsborough: All school religious holidays dropped

TAMPA - The Hillsborough school calendar will not recognize any religious holidays next school year, but it will continue a traditional day off for students to attend the state fair.

Ending two years of debate that resonated nationally in the culture wars, the Hillsborough School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to adopt a secular calendar for 2007-08. It eliminates current days off coinciding with Good Friday, the Monday after Easter and the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.

"It's what is fair, not what is politically correct," School Board member April Griffin said during the nearly two hours of discussion.

The new calendar also continues a tradition of closing school to support Hillsborough's agricultural heritage.

School Board members reversed an earlier plan to do away with Fair Day, a day off for most of the county to allow students to attend the state fair. Fair officials told the School Board they would grant free admission for students on Fair Day. The board agreed to keep the tradition for at least one more year.

As in the past, students in east Hillsborough will exchange the Fair Day holiday for a day off to celebrate the Strawberry Festival.

"I think we blind-sided the state fair," said School Board member Jennifer Faliero, who supported keeping the status quo on Fair Day and Strawberry Festival Day. "This isn't an easy decision because you are talking about cultures that have been around in this community."

In recent years, Hillsborough's school calendar has touched off a firestorm of debate. The School Board heard from hundreds of people - and Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor - when it tried to move to a secular calendar last year. The pressure prompted an about-face, and the religious holidays were restored.

Under a new state law, Hillsborough could start the school year no earlier than Aug. 20. The later start date limited the number of holidays possible in the fall semester, when schools were just able to squeeze in a full semester before winter break.

That left little support for continuing a Jewish holiday, or adding a day off on a Muslim holiday, during the tight fall semester.

For eight of the 15 people who signed up Tuesday night to speak about the calendar, the issue became one of fairness: All religions should get days off on holidays, or none should.

"As a group of high school students, we realized that having religions treated equally was more important than a day off school," said Claire Shimberg, a freshman at Hillsborough High who told the School Board about the conversation she had with her Jewish youth group.

Still, most of the feedback to School Board members were pleas for greater respect of Christian values. Almost all of the 1,900 e-mails sent featured similar wording, sent through a grassroots campaign organized by the conservative Florida Family Association. While many came from outside Hillsborough, several local parents made their sentiments clear Tuesday night.

"Please do not take our holidays away," Lisa Donini asked the School Board. "They help to bring us together, if just for a few days each year."

But School Board members already had their minds made up about religious holidays. The bulk of their debate centered on the question of continuing Fair Day.

A week ago, School Board members appeared to agree that the tradition had outlived its usefulness.

On Tuesday night, Fair Authority executive director Charles Pesano implored them to reconsider. He noted that about 63,000 people attend the fair on the day off school, compared with 20,000 on an average weekday. He placed the financial impact of the school holiday at $750,000.

School Board members weren't sure. But several questioned their earlier discussion about granting the entire county a day off school for the Strawberry Festival, noting that many families would have trouble getting to the event in Plant City.

In the end, they decided that more study was needed on both agricultural holidays. In a 5-2 vote, Fair Day and Strawberry Festival were restored. Board members Candy Olson and April Griffin opposed the decision.

"If we had a Busch Gardens Day, and they called and said we're going to give you a discount, would we take a day off?" Olson said.

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Comments on this article

by allison	01/07/08 07:23 AM
how many holidays do the students get off

by tiffany	11/20/07 08:22 PM
please dont take the right away from our kids to know the way we grew up!!!!!!!

by paige	07/23/07 08:55 PM
this is rediculous it should stay the same as it always was students should have all the same holidays off!

by Bryan	04/07/07 11:14 PM
I believe it's fair for those who aren't Christians or Jews & students have more days to study. With holidays, students go to school for 6 mths. without them, students have extra 3 mths to study.

by Mark	03/02/07 03:48 AM
Its so refreshing to hear a story from the US where the superstitious morons didn't get their way for once. Thanks.

by Billy	03/01/07 09:01 PM
It's sad for me to see the recognition of religious holidays eliminated. However, this is where parents need to awaken and become more active "with" their children in the church of their choice. The parents must teach and not abrogate "their" duty!

by Donna	03/01/07 06:21 PM
What a pity our society no longer want s to worship the God that created all of us. God gave us the ability to choose and to choose wisely by consulting Him first. I think this is a real slap in the face to our Heavenly Father.

by John	03/01/07 05:29 PM
Good for the school. Christians don't want equal rights, they want special rights. If students who are Muslim or Jewish don't get special days off for their irrational beliefs then neither should Christians.

by a mommy...	03/01/07 04:27 PM
Ephesians 6:12 seems appropriate.

by DW	03/01/07 02:52 PM
God is not going to fall off his throne because of the school board's poor decisions. He does however, honor those that honor him. Who does Hillsborough chose to honor? The fair and strawberries?? What is the root of the word Holiday anyway?

by Kathy	03/01/07 09:31 AM
Money talks, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul? You will have to answer to God one day why you took his holiday and not the rest.

by Josh	03/01/07 01:30 AM
I'm dishearted. If they kept "fair day" due to tradition, then they could have easily kept the other religious holidays due to tradition. But really what is at stake here is money. Now the arguement is why the fair get its day off and no one else.

by Nare	02/28/07 10:33 PM
So good of you to report this very positive news item.

by rich	02/28/07 09:20 PM
Whats going to happen when 50 to 60 percent of the teachers take off on a christian holiday I hope the bus driver can teach math

by Leonard	02/28/07 07:43 PM
To Members of the Hillsborough County School Board: Please read these comments; then require that the authors of comments containing spelling/grammatic errors be compelled to attend school six days per week, 52 weeks per year.

by Steve	02/28/07 07:33 PM
Wow, rule of the minority! Christians do need to stand up and fight for themselves as everyone else does. This is a Christian nation regardless what revisionist keep trying to convince everyone.

by Bob	02/28/07 03:40 PM
Martin Luther King day does not need to be a day off school, neither does fair day. Florida education is so far behind other states, these kids and their families need to be focused on being in school, not the days they have away from it.

by Lisa	02/28/07 02:56 PM
I hope Issy is being sarcastic. The school board did the right thing. "All religions should get days off on holidays, or none should." Why should one be chosen over another? I see nothing wrong with Fair Day. Let them enjoy themselves.

by Lisa	02/28/07 02:45 PM
I hope Issy is being sarcastic. The school board did the right thing. "All religions should get days off on holidays, or none should." Why should one be chosen over another? I see nothing wrong with Fair Day. Let them enjoy themselves.

by KB	02/28/07 01:54 PM
Jim: you are WRONG WRONG WRONG on this. Why don't you settle in and read this: http://freethought.mbdojo.com/foundingfathers.html

by Sarah	02/28/07 01:53 PM
Isn't FAIRNESS and EQUALITY values we should teach our children? The school board is demonstrating these values nicely with this new schedule. Those of you who disagree can keep your child home that day or send them to a religious private school.

by Jana	02/28/07 01:39 PM
Christian holidays should be kept in place, such as Easter/Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years. These are holidays most nonfederal business are closed. But get rid of other holidays that are smaller, such as MLK Day/Columbus Day/Boss Day/Secratary day

by Faithful	02/28/07 01:34 PM
The school board has left faith to the faithful. True believers will keep in mind Matthew 22:21. Those who complain are recognized in Matthew 6:1-8. They have their reward.

by Dee	02/28/07 01:32 PM
Okay, so we have "fair day". What next, Disney day?

by Tom	02/28/07 01:18 PM
Tough call for the school board, but I think they made the right decision.

by Anne	02/28/07 01:16 PM
Aimee, "one nation under God" was added to the pledge during the McCarthy era--a proud time indeed.

by Doug	02/28/07 12:51 PM
If they acknowledge religious holidays, where do they draw the line? What about Buddhist and Wiccan holidays? What about the winter/summer solstice and spring/fall equinox? Or is this simply about Christian holidays? Hmmmm...

by John	02/28/07 12:47 PM
Why is May 2 a day off? Do we need the day before Thankgiving off? Fair Day AND President's day? Three days, three major cultures. Yes, I understand that 1st semester would be 2 days short. What would that harm compared to the division we have now?

by Paul	02/28/07 12:38 PM
23 days off. This is America. You should get off New Years Day/Memorial Day/4th of July/Labor Day/Thanksgiving-Friday/and Christmas. You them have approximately 15 "personal days" to use as you choose. No tests given on ANY religious holiday.

by Mike	02/28/07 12:38 PM
I applaud the school board, Religion is not suppose to govern us. The State is suppose to govern without religion in mind. No matter what religion you believe in it should not be a focus of any public school. There are plenty of private schools.

by LeAnn	02/28/07 11:11 AM
you CAN take the day off for your holiday..just the school doesn't close down. No tests, activities or other special things are to be on those days. So how exactly is this unfair? You get your holidays, I get mine. Neither of us is inconvenienced.

by Debbie	02/28/07 11:02 AM
Religion aside, start two weeks later to finish two weeks later, how is that giving the kids their summer back, Wasn't that the whole point of pushing out the start date.

by Issy	02/28/07 10:50 AM
I don't care about all those other peoples religions, mine is the right one and the School Board ought to celebrate my God's holidays. To hell with all those other people. If they weren't heathens, they wouldn't be complaining about good holidays.

by Aimee	02/28/07 10:31 AM
A country founded under God where only the politicians are recognized for theirr contribution. A contradicting value system..."One nation under God..." or not?

by SARA	02/28/07 10:22 AM
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. WE LET OUR CHILDREN HAVE THE DAY OFF TO GO TO THE FAIR AND STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL, BUT NO CELEBRATING YOUR RELIGION? HOW IS THE FAIR AND FESTIVAL PART OF OUR CULTURE, BUT OUR RELIGION IS NOT? WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT?

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All school religious holidays dropped