How to fit school days into Gov Larry Hogan's ridiculous policy on school start and stop dates

[Anonymous]

In this case, start by making the Easter holidays snow days.

I am completely in favor of this, but here's the issue. The state will not grant a waiver to make Good Friday a possible "snow day." They will allow schools to use President's Day or Easter Monday, but MCPS does not wish to do so because they have to pay holiday pay to supporting services. One of two things must happen, in my opinion:

1) MCEA or some other group needs to petition the state legislature to remove these two holidays as mandated school holidays. OR

2) MCPS must negotiate with the supporting services union to get them to agree to work for regular pay if any of those days are used as snow days. They used Easter Monday as a make-up day a couple of years ago, and it cost them a lot of extra Monday.

[Anonymous]

Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

Two of the four options do that. Does that mean that you favor those two options? Then you should tell the BoE that.

(Easter Monday and Easter Friday, in contrast, serve a very small percentage of the student population but are state-mandated holidays. Why?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How should the teachers union address the state-mandated Good Friday and Easter Monday issue?

Go out as a UNION and request to the state that they remove one or both of these days as state mandated so the BOE of each district can handle the 180 days better, the kids get a full week of Spring Break without another day off in the beginning or the end (depending on when they have Spring Break) for either Good Friday or Easter Monday. As a matter of fact, why not just make Spring break after 3rd quarter and then you don't even need a Q3 planning half or full day. Teachers get a whole week to grade and report before 4th quarter. Because really neither are a holiday that kids need to be out of school for and Easter is on a Sunday so there is no need to have any days around it off. I say this as a Catholic. I much rather Jewish families fasting for Yom Kippur be off from school than my kids on Easter Monday doing nothing.

Unfortunately the state can't do that. Only the General Assembly can do that. It's state law.

Obviously but they can make their voices heard. You knew that is what the PP meant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In this case, start by making the Easter holidays snow days.

I am completely in favor of this, but here's the issue. The state will not grant a waiver to make Good Friday a possible "snow day." They will allow schools to use President's Day or Easter Monday, but MCPS does not wish to do so because they have to pay holiday pay to supporting services. One of two things must happen, in my opinion:

1) MCEA or some other group needs to petition the state legislature to remove these two holidays as mandated school holidays. OR

2) MCPS must negotiate with the supporting services union to get them to agree to work for regular pay if any of those days are used as snow days. They used Easter Monday as a make-up day a couple of years ago, and it cost them a lot of extra Monday.

Oh so the other districts aren't as cheap as MCPS - got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

Two of the four options do that. Does that mean that you favor those two options? Then you should tell the BoE that.

(Easter Monday and Easter Friday, in contrast, serve a very small percentage of the student population but are state-mandated holidays. Why?)

Instead, let's get the legislature to pass a bill that requires jurisdictions to be off for any religious holiday with a population >= X% following that religion. That could mean Eid, Jewish Holidays, Hindu holidays, etc., get days off by law. This would make adhering to Hogan's executive order impossible. That is, it would not be possible to start and stop according to the Hogan's executive order while following applicable laws. Let that go to court!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

Two of the four options do that. Does that mean that you favor those two options? Then you should tell the BoE that.

(Easter Monday and Easter Friday, in contrast, serve a very small percentage of the student population but are state-mandated holidays. Why?)

Um, because most people celebrate Easter (even if only in a secular way) and they enjoy traveling for spring break. The Jewish and Muslim holidays that fall on random days during the week don't lend themselves to vacation breaks.

[Anonymous]

The Jewish holidays issue illustrates why the calendar should be up to individual school districts with different needs and populations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

Two of the four options do that. Does that mean that you favor those two options? Then you should tell the BoE that.

(Easter Monday and Easter Friday, in contrast, serve a very small percentage of the student population but are state-mandated holidays. Why?)

Um, because most people celebrate Easter (even if only in a secular way) and they enjoy traveling for spring break. The Jewish and Muslim holidays that fall on random days during the week don't lend themselves to vacation breaks.

They can travel for spring break without state-mandated school closings for religious holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

Two of the four options do that. Does that mean that you favor those two options? Then you should tell the BoE that.

(Easter Monday and Easter Friday, in contrast, serve a very small percentage of the student population but are state-mandated holidays. Why?)

Um, because most people celebrate Easter (even if only in a secular way) and they enjoy traveling for spring break. The Jewish and Muslim holidays that fall on random days during the week don't lend themselves to vacation breaks.

My work doesn't close for Easter Friday or Monday... odd how that affects nobody

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

Two of the four options do that. Does that mean that you favor those two options? Then you should tell the BoE that.

(Easter Monday and Easter Friday, in contrast, serve a very small percentage of the student population but are state-mandated holidays. Why?)

Um, because most people celebrate Easter (even if only in a secular way) and they enjoy traveling for spring break. The Jewish and Muslim holidays that fall on random days during the week don't lend themselves to vacation breaks.

My work doesn't close for Easter Friday or Monday... odd how that affects nobody

Most people go away for Easter to visit family or on a real vacation. Before we began traveling for spring break, I used to work on those days and my office was a ghost town...ya know, since most families with school age kids travel for spring break. If you don't want to travel, then just take your kid to the office with you...nobody will be there to notice.

[Anonymous]

Yet another perspective...

Well I do get the elementary school families and the child care issue of the random days off, it was really good for high schoolers to do college visits those days. Now they have to miss instruction to go visiting schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yet another perspective...

Well I do get the elementary school families and the child care issue of the random days off, it was really good for high schoolers to do college visits those days. Now they have to miss instruction to go visiting schools.

+1
Exactly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

Two of the four options do that. Does that mean that you favor those two options? Then you should tell the BoE that.

(Easter Monday and Easter Friday, in contrast, serve a very small percentage of the student population but are state-mandated holidays. Why?)

Um, because most people celebrate Easter (even if only in a secular way) and they enjoy traveling for spring break. The Jewish and Muslim holidays that fall on random days during the week don't lend themselves to vacation breaks.

My work doesn't close for Easter Friday or Monday... odd how that affects nobody

Your office doesn't close for spring break either but I bet it's pretty empty that week. Random Jewish and Muslim holidays do affect September significantly.

[Anonymous]

I don't get the Easter Monday thing. Good Friday is a solemn day on which many people fast, but I don't know of a religion that has particular religious observances on Easter Monday.

Fairfax county doesn't get off on Easter Monday. Why does Montgomery county include it?