Parents get to vote on Fort Worth school calendar

Residents are providing an enthusiastic response to the school district’s call for a community vote on upcoming school calendars.

Since voting began last week, thousands of patrons, including parents, students and employees, have cast a vote for calendars for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years, Fort Worth district spokeswoman Barbara Griffith said. Voting ends Feb. 3.

“People are not hesitant to express their opinion,’’ Griffith said. “A lot of them seem to like the idea of being allowed to share what they like.”

State law now requires that school officials clock in at least 75,600 minutes of instruction, with one day defined as 420 minutes. Previously, the Texas Education Code defined 180 days of instruction as an acceptable school year. So Fort Worth and other districts have pointed out that they will have more flexibility in adjusting schedules for snow days, waiver days and the end of school.

Just this month, the 56-student Olfen school district near San Angelo approved a new schedule that creates a predominantly four-day school week — the first of its kind in the state.

This is the first year that Fort Worth school officials have asked for community input on school schedules for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years.

“Families’ lives, jobs, free time and academic success are impacted by the school calendar,’’ said Molly Hyry, a parent on the district’s calendar committee. “It is important for us to have an open process.”

The biggest difference in the calendar options is the timing of the winter break. One option, for example, would dismiss students for winter break around Dec. 18 and require that they return to classes shortly after Jan. 1. A second option would delay the start of winter break to around Dec. 23 and require that students return to class around Jan. 9.

The Fort Worth school board still has final say over the choice of the calendar, district officials said.

“The school calendar is a pretty big deal,” spokesman Clint Bond said. Parents and other “want to know the calendar so they can plan out their lives in advance, buy plane tickets, arrange for travel.”

Others want to anticipate high-stakes testing dates.

Hyry said some parents want the district’s calendar to be consistent with area colleges, while some parents with other children enrolled in private schools want the district’s calendar to coincide with that.

“Many parents use college students for child care, whether they are siblings or paid baby sitters,” said Hyry, who has sat on the district’s calendar committee for two years.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Parents get to vote on Fort Worth school calendar."