Board favors secular calendar

FEBRUARY 20, 2007

The Hillsborough School Board appears ready to approve a school calendar that does not recognize any religious holidays, including Good Friday.

In a workshop Tuesday, Superintendent MaryEllen Elia and a strong majority of School Board members endorsed a secular calendar for the 2007-08 school year.

It would eliminate existing holidays that coincide with Good Friday, the Monday after Easter and the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.

Last year, the School Board approved a similar calendar, only to reverse their vote after an outcry from some members of the community that echoed nationally. This year, school officials say they have done a better job explaining their rationale to the public.

- Letitia Stein, Hillsborough County education reporter

Posted by Times Editor at 3:45:31 pm on February 20, 2007 in

Hillsborough County

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