Board of Ed Votes to Shorten April Vacation If Needed [Update]

[Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect the correct number of snow days that were built into the Stamford Public Schools calendar for the 2010-2011 academic year.]

This winter’s persistent inclement weather has chewed up all of the four snow days has built into its academic calendar. The Board of Education voted Tuesday that the fifth snow day the district had would be made up on Monday April 18 and if any additional snow days should occur, the district will cut into the April 2010 vacation, excluding Good Friday.

“As you may know, the snow has complicated this year for us along with many other districts across the state,” Superintendent Joshua Starr said. “We recognize the difficulty of the situation we find ourselves in. There may even be more snow days. I also recognize there are significant concerns that parents would have to choose between a family vacation or losing out on money toward a vacation. There are no good choices here.”

Four resolutions were presented to the board: option one included cutting up to four days, excluding President’s Day, of the February vacation; option two would cut up to four days from the April 2010 vacation, excluding Good Friday; option three would extend the school year in June; and option four would partially cut from both the Feb. and April 2010 vacations. Option two was approved with a vote of five board members supporting the resolution, three against, and one abstaining.

“Observing how the end of June works, it’s already a challenge to keep people focused on education,” board member Julia Wade said. “I’m not in favor of February, it’s not enough time to give parents. I would be in favor of April.”

“My personal choice would be to extend the year in the summer or cut into April to give us more time to plan,” Mark Monte, a Stamford Public Schools teacher who addressed the board at the beginning of the meeting.

According to Starr, the dates of the Connecticut Mastery Tests (CMT) and the Connecticut Academic Performance Tests (CAPT) will not change.

The final day of school remains contingent on whether the board approves to waive the 181st day of school. This day is scheduled for Monday, June 27. As it stands now, that day will be taken out of April vacation, making June 24 the final day. The board will vote Feb. 28 whether to eliminate the last day, which would make June 24 the final day of school with no additional days taken from April vacation—should no more snow days occur.

The state of Connecticut requires 180 days of school and — according to Starr — the odds of the State Board of Education or the governor waiving the 180-day requirement are slim. Going forward, the board voted to cut from April vacation should this situation arise in the 2011-2012 calendar.