UPDATED: Montgomery School Board Raises New Objection to Labor Day Order
A teacher reads a book with his students.
The Montgomery County Board of Education has asked Gov. Larry Hogan to take another look at his executive order mandating when school systems can start and end classes.
In August, the governor issued the order, which would require school to start after Labor Day and end on June 15, 2018, a move he said would give families a longer summer. Some, particularly in Montgomery County, criticized the order because it benefited Ocean City at the expense of instruction.
In a letter sent to Hogan on Thursday, the school board noted that if the county does not need its built-in snow days, the last day of school would be June 8.
“While we do not think you intended for your Executive Order to mandate that the last day of school be June 8, 2018, that is the practical effect of the interaction between your Executive Order and the requirements under COMAR,” the letter reads. “We respectfully suggest that the unintended consequence of shortening the school year to June 8, 2018, has not been considered in full, and we ask you to reexamine this issue in the coming months and provide districts guidance in how to proceed when developing their school calendars for the 2018-2019 school year.”
Hogan spokeswoman Hannah Marr said by email Thursday: “The only thing preventing teachers from receiving training are the unreasonable teachers union contracts that have been stealing classroom time away from children for decades. Montgomery County schools have nine full or partial days off for union service days, where students missed classroom time and parents were forced to alter their schedules or find childcare, on the 2017-18 calendar.
“Starting school after Labor Day is a common sense change that benefits students, parents, and teachers, and has the support of the vast majority of Marylanders.”
Here is the complete letter:
Here’s what school board President Mike Durso thought of the executive order in August:
A couple points:
The EO ordered schools to be closed “by” June 15th, not “on.” (2nd paragraph)
I’d be interested in reading the actual letter in its entirety, but at the bottom where it says “Here is the complete letter,” it isn’t there at this writing. Can it be appended, please? Thanks!
Perhaps Gov. Hogan’s office thinks that his plan is successful because they delete any opposition voiced on his Facebook page. If you cherry pick the voters so that you only listen to those that agree, it all seems rosy. November 2018 elections NEED to show a positive change in Annapolis.
Yup in 2018 me and thousand’s of other mder’s will still vote for hogan.
What in the world is a union service day? Is she talking about professional days that are built into the calendar for grading and reporting and teacher planning and preparation for each academic quarter?
Governor Hoggan needs to understand that as parents we’re dedicated to our school
We’re ranking first in the nation now we dropping,the Montgomery county board of education are doing an outstanding job for our school raison why many families chose to live here
We need support for our school
“Governor Hogan needs to understand that as parents we’re dedicated to our schools.
We’re ranking first in the nation, now we are dropping. The Montgomery county board of education is doing an outstanding job for our schools, the reason why many families chose to live here.
We need support for our school.”
I made the changes you could not find. I would change “We’re ranking first…” to “We were ranking first, but now we’re dropping.”. When you talk about the ranking dropping it implies that we are no longer first. Always room for improvement.
I think people are blowing this out of proportion. I went to school after labor day, and I survived. I like the idea because i get another week with my daughter. Also, its usually still so hot the end of August that they eithet cancel school,or close early due to the extreme heat. Just give it a chance, I think everyone will be surprised, how much nicer it is not having to cut vacations short to get home , onlyto go back to school to be told school will be closed due to heat! Think about it before you go off the deep end!