Jessica Foster
Staff WriterStudents attending Mondayís ISD 831 school board meeting had reason to cheeróand they did so with glee.
After much discussion, the school board voted to modify the proposed school calendar and not begin classes until after the Labor Day holiday.
As approved, school will begin for students next year on Tuesday, September 7. The last day of school will be Friday, June 9. Christmas vacation will begin on December 23 until January 3 when classes resume. Spring break is scheduled for March 21-25.
The school board had been considering beginning classes before Labor Day, on Sept. 1. With the earlier start date Christmas vacation would have been a full two weeks long.
The calendar includes 175 student days, 188 days for returning teachers and 192 days for new teachers.
Superintendent Lynn Steenblock recommended going ahead with the proposed calendar and beginning classes Wednesday, Sept. 1. The state is allowing the earlier start this year due to a somewhat later than usual Labor Day. Highlights of the proposed calendar, he said, was a two week Christmas holiday and a spring break tied to Easter.
ìIím still recommending moving forward with the calendar,î Steenblock said.
Board Member Jody Krebs suggested getting rid of a couple of workshop days as a way to make the calendar work. But Member Dean Barr disagreed.
ìItís their opportunity to learn. Thatís where the teachers are learning,î he said.
Board Member Karen Morehead, who supported starting the school year after Labor Day, agreed with Krebs. She had done some researching and found Forest Lake was above the state and metro average of work days for returning teachers. The state average, she reported, is 183 days; the metro average is 185 days.
ìWeíre above both the state and the metro average,î she said. ìThis is an individual district decision. I consider the sixth of September not that late.î
Steenblock, however, said that matter was a discussion for negotiationsónot calendar planning.
Board Member Joe Grafft said he had received more calls and queries on the calendar than he had fielded during levy issues. He added many students are busy with State Fair competitions before Labor Day.
Member Robert Raphael said he too had been in contact with several people concerned about the proposed starting date.
In the unscheduled visitors section of the meeting, community member Jim Banta discouraged starting school before Labor Day.
ìSchool should always start after Labor Day,î Banta said. ìThis gives families a final chance of summer to vacation and recreate.î
He also suggested school should close before the end of May to give teenagers a better chance to secure summer jobs.
Members Barr and Keith Dunham voted against the later start. Krebs, Bill Bresin, Raphael, Morehead and Grafft supported the September 7 start date.
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