The Hillsborough School Board appears ready to approve a school calendar that does not recognize any religious holidays, including Good Friday.
In a workshop Tuesday, Superintendent MaryEllen Elia and a strong majority of School Board members endorsed a secular calendar for the 2007-08 school year.
It would eliminate existing holidays that coincide with Good Friday, the Monday after Easter and the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
Last year, the School Board approved a similar calendar, only to reverse their vote after an outcry from some members of the community that echoed nationally. This year, school officials say they have done a better job explaining their rationale to the public.
- Letitia Stein, Hillsborough County education reporter
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I was not talking about religion. I was talking about a multicultural experience. Many people will be absent anyway, why not be flexible and accepting of different cultural heritages.
Posted by: John T Mattox | February 22, 2007 at 09:54 AM
Religion has NO place in the public schools. No religious holidays should be recognized. If they start by recognizing one religion's holiday, they should recognize all religious holidays, including those the mainstream might find unconventional or countercultural.
Posted by: how | February 20, 2007 at 09:17 PM
Why can the School board not allow one Muslim holiday, one Jewish holday and one Christian holiday.
Posted by: John T Mattox | February 20, 2007 at 08:12 PM