Why on earth are PG county schools closed today

[Anonymous]

Really..... I mean the Jewish population in the county is a fraction of a percent. The percentage of the student body that are Muslim has to be higher than that and I don't think they get those holy days off.

[Anonymous]

Same reason montgomery county is closed on Martin Luther king jr day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same reason montgomery county is closed on Martin Luther king jr day.

Post of the year. well done

[Anonymous]

Can we all just agree that MLK day off is a joke? It would be more meaningful to have the day after Thanksgiving off as a day to be spent with family and loved ones.

[Anonymous]

Maryland law requires that all public schools be closed on the following days:
Thanksgiving
Friday following Thanksgiving
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King Day
Presidents' Day
Friday before Easter
Monday after Easter
Memorial Day

The other holidays are at the discretion of the School Board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we all just agree that MLK day off is a joke?

No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we all just agree that MLK day off is a joke?

No.

Why would you say such a thing? I don't think it's a joke. What's wrong with remembering someone who changed our country for the better He was one of the most significant leaders in the civil rights movement. I don't celebrate Christmas, but I don't go around saying that having Christmas and Good Friday off are jokes. Those to me are more of a joke than MLK Day. At least MLK benefitted our nation, hence he is more worthy of having a national holiday named after him. The other two days are religious and we supposedly live in a nation where there is a separation between church and state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we all just agree that MLK day off is a joke?

No.

Why would you say such a thing? I don't think it's a joke. What's wrong with remembering someone who changed our country for the better He was one of the most significant leaders in the civil rights movement. I don't celebrate Christmas, but I don't go around saying that having Christmas and Good Friday off are jokes. Those to me are more of a joke than MLK Day. At least MLK benefitted our nation, hence he is more worthy of having a national holiday named after him. The other two days are religious and we supposedly live in a nation where there is a separation between church and state.

+1,000,000

[Anonymous]

OK, well, my family lives here and we celebrate. And if it wasn't a day off, we'd still be out of work & school. If the board wanted to send everyone home on Eid al Fitr, that'd be OK by us.

[Anonymous]

Montgomery County closes because of the number of TEACHERS who would take Rosh Hashanah off, causing a need for substitutes that the system cannot fill (not to mention the cost of paying that inordinate number of substitutes). It has nothing to do with giving students who celebrate the day off to do so. I imagine that is why PG county closes, as well. There aren't nearly as many Muslim teachers, which is again why the BOE hasn't felt is necessary to close the system for Muslim holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK, well, my family lives here and we celebrate. And if it wasn't a day off, we'd still be out of work & school. If the board wanted to send everyone home on Eid al Fitr, that'd be OK by us.

I guess the question is at what point does it make sense to close the whole school system down rather than just grant excused absences to those who want to observe the holiday.

And as far as teachers go, I doubt that PG county has that many teachers who are observant Jews.....certainly not more than DC schools, and they were open yesterday.