School day turned into a mess - St. Petersburg Times

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School day turned into a mess

The Hillsborough County School District should be embarrassed by the mess it made of classes on Good Friday. This was a regular school day, included on the calendar. Yet rather than function as normal, the district made clear to religious conservatives and overindulgent parents that students and staff could blow off the school day.

This issue should have been settled. Hillsborough spent two years wrangling in the national limelight over the calendar before agreeing to a secular schedule that recognized no religious holidays. Yet rather than hold fast to a decision already made and vetted by a committee of school officials and parents, the district gave a wink and a nod to treat Good Friday as an unofficial holiday. It did not require a minimum number of teachers, bus drivers or other school workers to show up. It did not communicate to every parent the same message about Good Friday classes; some principals sent out automated phone calls; some did not. School Board Chairwoman Jennifer Faliero even framed the truancy in laudatory terms, calling it an exercise in Christian unity.

So this is how we run the nation's eighth-largest school system? Eight in 10 high school students missed school Friday. Hillsborough had to cancel regular bus service to some schools after 40 percent of bus drivers took the day off. The school superintendent tried to spin those numbers as evidence of faith in the county. But school attendance was among the strongest in some of Hillsborough's most socially conservative neighborhoods. And half the bus drivers called in on only a few days' notice. This was not some outpouring of Christian faith, but students and staff gaming the system because they had the opportunity.

What students do on Good Friday should be between them and their families. The issue here is that the school system has a responsibility to be fully functional on scheduled school days. Hillsborough needs to change the policy that allows employees to take personal days, no questions asked. The classrooms, cafeterias and buses need minimum staffing levels. No company could operate if all its employees wanted the same day off. Pinellas has held classes on Good Friday for several years and seems to manage.

The administration and School Board need to stand behind the secular calendar. Faliero in particular needs to realize that the public school system is here to serve Christians and non-Christians alike.

Comments on this article

by Heidi	Mar 27, 2008 9:27 AM
Sam, sounds like you want teachers to babysit your brats. We get 1 planning day per quarter, come back to work a week before kids to get set up and work for 2 days after they leave to wrap up loose ends. We do NOT get "too many planning days.&qu

by Tampa Teacher	Mar 26, 2008 9:00 PM
Why are teachers getting blamed? This was not the fault of the teachers. More than half my students told me their parents lied for them so they could take the day off. Great role models... The parents ought to be ashamed of themselves.

by jen	Mar 26, 2008 8:59 PM
Stop blaming teachers... there was an 88 percent student absence rate and only 10 percent teacher absence at my school... Blame the parents and the school board...

by Teach	Mar 26, 2008 6:40 PM
I am a teacher in Pinellas and they did the same thing at our school. They made announcements all week that students can take off if they have a note.

by Jay	Mar 26, 2008 3:30 PM
I am a teacher and didn't take off. You better believe I had plenty of students who took off for the beach. Parents not only let them, but probably gave them spending cash. Before you blame public education,as usual, you should look in a mirror.

by lulu	Mar 26, 2008 1:39 PM
Why do Christians always take the blame for everything? They are being forced to work a day that has usually been theirs to take off. This is only because the sb is trying to accomodate everyone and turn them into robots...a reoccuring theme?

by lulu	Mar 26, 2008 1:25 PM
Why do Christians always take the blame for everything? They are being forced to work a day that has usually been theirs to take off. This is only because the sb is trying to accomodate everyone and turn them into robots...a reoccuring theme?

by Sam	Mar 26, 2008 1:25 PM
I feel badly for working parents as there are so many "Teacher Planing Days" in the schedule already!! It seems the kids are out of school one day out of every two weeks! Now the FCAT is over, they don't learn anything constructive an

by Dave	Mar 26, 2008 11:59 AM
Awesome, just Awesome! Why is it anyone involved in education is a moron? I first noticed it as a student. Common sense just goes out the window.

by Mike	Mar 26, 2008 11:57 AM
Unless all those kids were in church, there was no reason for them to take the day off.

by jimmy	Mar 26, 2008 11:56 AM
Suzie C is almost right: Good Friday is for FAMILIES, worshipping together.

by Suzie Creamcheese	Mar 26, 2008 9:40 AM
Good Friday is for ADULTS. The true meaning of Good Friday only sinks in as we age. What we were taught we begin to understand. Don't praise "family", "diversity" and "multiculturalism" and then devalue the majorit

by Cindy	Mar 26, 2008 9:32 AM
Our school board had a brilliant solution: Teacher Planning Day!!!! No muss, no fuss...

by ummm...	Mar 26, 2008 9:09 AM
Attendance in Pinellas was abysmal as well. Although I'm sure that attendance at Pinellas beaches was pretty good...

by John	Mar 26, 2008 9:09 AM
The SB attorney, told the SB that any time the SB felt that there would be a high absentee rate that the SB could cancel classes. Why not recognize the diversity in our community and have a Christian, a Jewish and a Muslim holiday. Not May 2.

by Rick	Mar 26, 2008 9:09 AM
Once again we have an individual, singular, attempting to sway our majority. The Government, regardless of seperation of church and state, need to acknowledge christian holidays. End of Story.

by jimmy	Mar 26, 2008 9:05 AM
The entire calendar needs to be revised. The present situation would not be tolerated in a business of any kind. Even banks get better use of their capital real estate and facilities. Education in the US is still living in the 19th Century.