BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer
SAYREVILLE – Students will continue to observe Memorial Day and Veterans Day with a day off from school thanks to school officials’ latest decision.
In response to state legislation that lifts the mandatory commemoration of Veterans Day and Memorial Day, the Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution supporting the closing of all district schools in observance of those holidays.
Board President Michael Macagnone told those in attendance at the March 20 meeting that the board supported the mandatory commemorations of those holidays.
“The Sayreville Board of Education supports the veterans,” Macagnone said. “Anytime that the veterans want to talk [at the schools], they are more than welcome.”
The board was unanimous in recognizing the days off for students on the 2007-08 calendar.
The New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) supported legislative bills that leave it to the discretion of local boards on whether to give students the days off. The Sayreville board is asking that the NJSBA revise its policy and support the mandatory commemoration of the holidays.
“NJSBA’s position on the legislation has the potential to alienate an entire group of citizens from their identification with our state’s public schools,” according to the board’s resolution.
Veterans from the local American Legion attended a board meeting in 2005 to respond to concerns about the possible elimination of Veterans Day as a school holiday in Sayreville.
While the board was looking to adjust the schedule to get children out of school earlier that year, its members told the veterans they never considered Veterans Day for a school day.
Macagnone has said that the district should do everything it can to preserve the Veterans Day holiday.
“We wanted to clear the air and make sure that everybody understood that this is a veterans-friendly town,” Macagnone told the Suburban.
Macagnone, a member of the American Legion, noted that he served in the U.S. Air Force for 22 years of active duty.
The state brought forth this legislation at the beginning of the year.
“Why our Legislature would come up with that when the country is at war is beyond me,” Macagnone said.
He said the district has reached out to several members of the state Legislature, but none have explained why Veterans Day and Memorial Day are no longer mandated as school holidays.
“The state knuckle-heads in Trenton did it,” Macagnone said, adding that while the legislation does not make it mandatory for boards to close school on Veterans Day or Memorial Day, it does not prohibit them from recognizing the holidays as days off.
Therefore, the board approved the resolution to voice their support of the holidays and ask the NJSBA to reconsider their policy. Board member Kevin Ciak drafted the board’s resolution, according to Macagnone.
Ciak, who is also president of the NJSBA, told the Suburban that the association is a policy-driven organization.
“All of our positions are really driven by policy,” Ciak said, adding that a semiannual delegation votes on policy positions.
The NJSBA’s policy is that the observance of any holiday is voluntary and should not be mandated by the state, Ciak said.
“So what the Sayreville Board of Education has done is pass a resolution to go before the delegate assembly and [say that] Veterans Day should be observed,” Ciak said.
The delegate assembly will decide whether to change its policy in November, Ciak said, noting the irony that Veterans Day is also that month.
Macagnone said the board will continue to support the holidays no matter what the state or the NJSBA decide to do.
“Regardless of what is being passed in Trenton, we are going to do what we want to do,” Macagnone said. “That is why we came out with the resolution.”