School Calendar Changed Due to Testing Schedule

Because of the recently released dates for the NJASK make-up tests, the board of education was required to make changes to its calendar to account for snow days in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 calendars.

With the original school district calendar, the scheduled give back days in the case of unused snow days fall on the recently determined NJASK make-up test days.

“The schedule for that was made after our calendar was made,” superintendent of schools Michael Schilder said at Tuesday’s board of education meeting.

The original give back days were scheduled for May 28, May 24 and May 23, but NJASK test make-up days have been set for May 23 and May 24.

To account for the change, Schilder made a recommendation to have the give back days be April 2, May 28 and May 29, in that order.

Board of education member Jeffrey Brookner said instead that the option for those recommended days should be flipped to give back May 28 first, then May 29 and April 2.

“My only concern is that if you have only one snow day to give back and you get to, say, March 12 which is three weeks before April 2, can you reliably say on March 12 that you’re going to give a day back on April 2?” he asked. “I think there is too big of a risk that there might be another snow day.”

Brookner said he would prefer to not have that original priority, and to possibly reverse it.

“Let’s just say that if the snow dates are not used, the give back days will be April 2, May 28 or May 29, in an order to be determined based on timing,” he said. “The overall point is that the more detail we give people, the more they will rely on it.”

Schilder said he is afraid the change is too confusing to the public.

“I don’t think it’s too complicated,” Brookner said. “Just say the give back days are on these days, in an order to be announced when the decision is made.”

“The decision might be complicated, but the public presentation won’t be,” he added.

Board member Daniel Petrozelli recommended instead that the board present it to the public that if one snow day is used, April 2 is gone as a give back day, and once there is a second snow day, May 28 is gone.

The board opted with that, changing the give back days to April 2, May 28 and May 29, and eliminating them individually as snow days are used.

The board opted for a similar option for NJASK test make-up days for the 2013-2014 school year. The current give back days are May 27, May 23 and May 22, but the make-up test days are May 22 and May 23.

With a similar explanation as for the 2012-2013 school year, the give back days are changed to May 27, May 28 and April 22.

The board also made changes to board meetings, the first of which because there was one scheduled for Sept. 25, which is Yom Kippur. Instead, the meeting will be held Sep. 24.

Another board meeting was scheduled for Oct. 23, which is the NJSBA convention, which several board members will be attending. The meeting has been moved to Oct. 22.