Parents Speak Out Over Pre-Labor Day Start For Moorestown Schools

MOORESTOWN, NJ — A proposal to start the school year before Labor Day is drawing fire from some parents in Moorestown. The Moorestown Public School District Board of Education delayed until April approval of the school calendar for the 2020-21 academic year after parents complained about the planned pre-Labor Day start.

“Our family treasures our summer days together,” said one parent who spoke during Tuesday night’s meeting at the William Allen Middle School. “You can still get all the school days in without it (starting before Labor Day).”

As proposed, the school year was set to begin for students on Sept. 2, which is a Tuesday. Students would go to school for two days before a four-day Labor Day weekend.

Two in-service days would be scheduled for October, including a full day off and a half-day. Another full-day off for an in-service day would happen in March and April, and a half-day for an in-service would take place in May.

The district has a 182-school year, even though the state only mandates 180 days. Superintendent of Schools Scott McCartney said the district’s 182-day year falls in line with the calendars of districts of similar caliber to Moorestown. Millburn, which is ranked among the top school districts in the state, has a 183-day calendar. The number of days is negotiated as part of the teachers’ contract.

There are also four potential snow makeup dates set aside, which were also negotiated as part of the teachers’ contract. Dates for parent-teacher conferences are not included in the proposed calendar because they only impact the lower grade levels.

Former Board of Education member Dimitri Schneiberg suggested taking the two days before Labor Day and adding them to the end of the year, or moving around the in-service days.

“Families would rather have a full week off during the summer,” Schneiberg said.
The final day of school would be June 22, a Tuesday. School officials said it is cheaper to have project graduation events during the week as opposed to a Friday or a Monday, which is why they don’t want to add the days at the end of the year.

They also said in-service days are scheduled into the calendar to serve a specific purpose. Teachers are trained in new programs over the summer, and the in-service days are scheduled at appropriate times to allow for the district to check their progress.

“We need to make sure the timing of the in-service days makes sense,” McCartney said.
“There’s no magic as to when the in-service days happen. It’s what’s done during that time,” Board Member David Weinstein said.

“That’s true if it’s the difference between October and November, not October and June,” Board President Sandra Alberti said.

Ultimately, the board voted to table the calendar for further examination. The vote was 6-3, and the calendar will be considered again closer to the deadline to approve in April.

The calendar as it is currently proposed can be seen on Page 94 of the exhibits document presented at the board meeting on the district website.