Selma School Board approves new school calendar
Published 11:26 pm Thursday, June 14, 2012
After Alabama legislation passed in May saying the school calendars for the entire state should all begin after Labor Day and end before Memorial Day, the Selma City School Board approved a new calendar unanimously Thursday.
The legislation was passed in hopes that more tourism money would be generated through the state due to a longer summer vacation for students. The legislation also hopes to trim expenses for the school system by being in session less school days.
The new Selma City Schools calendar for the 2012-2013 school year proposes the first day of school for students to be on Monday, Aug. 20 while the last day of school in 2013 will be Wednesday, May 22. Christmas vacation will be Dec. 24 through Jan. 1 — only two days shorter than the previous year’s calendar for students.
Selma City School Board president Henry Hicks Sr. said Thursday he approves of the calendar change.
“They are saying [the new calendar] is going to save us money, and we are all about saving money so this calendar will help I think,” Hicks said.
Hicks agrees the calendar change is a help to the budget, but he does not believe cutting the learning time short will affect the quality of learning the students in Selma City Schools are receiving.
“If you have quality teachers, and here in the Selma City School System we do have that great quality, it will not be a bad thing,” Hicks said. “It just gives kids a little bit more time out of the classroom.”