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No school Thanksgiving week*
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Published: February 23, 2012
LAND O' LAKES - Barring a hurricane, students and employees at Pasco County schools will get a full week of vacation at Thanksgiving this fall instead of the normal three days.
The extra holiday time in the 2012-13 school calendar was a concession to the employees union to help improve employee morale during tough economic times and a rejection of an alternative calendar recommended by Superintendent Heather Fiorentino.
The Pasco County School Board approved the school calendar Tuesday evening, but the unanimous vote came with a couple of caveats.
The Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week will be reserved as hurricane makeup days in case a major storm forces schools to close. If that happens, the Thanksgiving break would drop back to three days.
"Being in the insurance business, I assure you I hope they get the entire week," board member Allen Altman said.
Board members also said employees need to understand a full week off at Thanksgiving is a one-year anomaly not likely to be repeated. Employees shouldn't plan on negotiating for it in the future.
"We are giving a concession here because we really believe the teachers need some support, but we don't want this to become a bargaining tool," board Vice Chairwoman Cynthia Armstrong said.
Lynne Webb, president of United School Employees of Pasco, pledged to make sure employees understand the extra time off at Thanksgiving is a one-time deal.
The board had put off voting on the calendar at a board meeting Feb. 7 at the urging of Webb, who serves on the district's calendar committee. A proposed calendar submitted by the committee included the full week off at Thanksgiving, but Fiorentino recommended the school board approve a version that kept the Thanksgiving vacation at the traditional three days.
Webb said employees have wanted the weeklong Thanksgiving vacation for years, but it never fit into the calendar. This year, dates aligned to make it a possibility. One factor was that Veterans Day, normally a day off for schools, falls on a Sunday.
Fiorentino and her assistant superintendents, though, gave several reasons for changing the calendar submitted by the committee.
They wanted to ensure students don't end up taking first-semester final exams after winter break. They wanted to make sure students in one-semester classes put in all the classroom hours required by state law. They also were concerned about working in enough hurricane makeup days.
Board Chairwoman Joanne Hurley said she didn't have a problem with either calendar, and Altman said the superintendent's calendar had merit.
"I don't think there is any denying the superintendent's calendar is a better instructional calendar because it gives two more days in the first semester," Altman said.
The committee's calendar, though, is an opportunity to improve morale and provide a benefit to employees without costing the district money, he said.
"I do it with some reservations," he said. "I know how hard pressed we are for time in that first semester."
Under the calendar approved by the school board, the first day of school for students will be Aug. 20 and the last day will be June 4, 2013.
Putting together a school calendar is a complicated task. State law dictates the earliest date school can start. Where holidays fall on the regular calendar can affect things. Dates for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, which is given in the second semester, must be taken into consideration.
Webb said serving on the calendar committee can be a thankless task.
"You're guaranteed to make somebody unhappy and oftentimes many people unhappy," she said.
rblair@tampatrib.com (813) 371-1853
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