ISD 166 school board member Eric Kemp asked the board on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 to discuss the possibility of getting rid of midwinter break, typically held the third week in February. He said he heard that in the past, a lot of district parents were resort owners who couldn’t vacation during the summer. Many of today’s parents, he said, cannot afford to take vacations and end up paying for daycare that week.
Superintendent Schwarz said she heard that the purpose of the break was to save money on heating and that resort owners tend to take their vacations in April, not February.
Leonard Sobanja said he was principal when midwinter break was instituted. Because of the lunar calendar one year, Easter fell a long time after Christmas vacation and kids became antsy without a break.
Schwarz said she would like to hear from parents regarding their opinion of midwinter break. Taking it away could bring the end of the school year closer to the beginning of June or shorten Christmas break. She would like district parents to contact their school board members regarding their opinions.
A one-question survey on the issue is available online at www.surveymonkey. com/s/DX79RC6.
Scheduling changes approved by the board for next year include discontinuation of numerous half-day teacher in-services in favor of four full-day in-services. This would leave families five days off during MEA – Wednesday, October 20 through Sunday, October 24.
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