Board approves 2013-14 school calendar
By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
After hearing a request from the South Asian community to add a Hindi family festival day as a school holiday, the Board of Education approved the 2013-14 school year calendar without it Monday night.
About 75 residents came to support several speakers who asked to add Deepawali as a holiday.
Deepawali, sometimes spelled Diwali, was described as the premier festival day for all of India and the billion followers of the religion worldwide. Deepawali was described as a festival of light, representing the victory of “good over evil” and leads Hindis from darkness (ignorance) to light (knowledge).
One speaker likened it to Christmas or New Year’s Day. One speaker asked board members to imagine waking up on Christmas, all excited, opening presents and then having to pick up your bag and go to school.
This year, Deepawali falls on Sunday, but in 2013 it falls on Tuesday, Nov. 14
One resident, Vinay Agarwal, said later that, although he respected the decision of board, “we as South Asian community really were disappointed with the board decision not to include this as holiday.
”Remember, we are not asking to reduce educational hours,” he said. “We are only asking to adjust calendar (by reducing other holidays) so that every faith can be represented fairly.”
Superintendent Jorden Schiff said he will soon ask the school board to approve school calendars two or three years in advance, in part because of the possibility of firming up a high school graduation date in case the board wants to move ceremonies off campus to a large facility that would require an advance reservation.
He talked about legal and contractual strictures to building a calendar, and showed a list of 200 or so ethnic, cultural and religious holidays that are approved by the state. He said students cannot be penalized if they stay away from school for any of the days, but high school junior Harsh Agarwal said academically he loses if he takes the day off.
The first day of school for students next fall would be Friday, Sept. 6. Labor Day is Sept. 2, followed by two in-service days for teachers. Thursday, Sept. 5, is Rosh Hashanah.
After no days off in October, schools would be open to students only nine days from Nov. 4-29. Thanksgiving falls the latest day possible (Nov. 28) with the next day a holiday, too.
Schools would reopen following New Year’s on Thursday, Jan. 2.
From Jan. 2 to April 11, only two days off are scheduled: Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 20 and Presidents’ Day, Feb. 17. They are Mondays.
The last day of school is a half-day on June 18, with high school graduation scheduled for Thursday, June 19.

