Special to This Site

The below letter is written by my friend Terry Kemple, director of the Citizens Issues Council. Our School Board will address this issue at its May 19 meeting.


Dear Hillsborough County School Board,

The calendar day that corresponds with Good Friday has been a holiday in Hillsborough County schools for a long time - until you decided to remove it. People of all faiths, and particularly Christians, have enjoyed having the day to spend with their families; some doing family things and some observing religious traditions.
I can't understand why it was so important to take the holiday off the calendar!
You established the policy allowing students and employees to take two days off for observance of religious holidays without penalty. It was a tremendous oversight to not even consider the significant repercussions that would result from eliminating a school holiday that has been observed for years that falls on the same day as one of the holiest days of the year for most Christians.
The results are clear. Overall, attendance of students and employees who work at the schools was under 50%! This shouldn't have been a shock when you take into account that, depending upon whose survey is used, Christians make up somewhere from 65 to 90% of our citizens.
Your oversight was terribly negligent and dangerous. It put students' safety at risk. There were children at bus stops waiting for busses that never came! There were students at schools that were understaffed to the point where schools were calling other schools to see if they had extra teachers. Fortunately, this time there were no casualties.
It also wasted thousands of dollars at a time when budgets are squeezed and money is tight. How can you justify spending the money to start up the power plants at every school in the district and paying for the gas for the busses that did run? With absenteeism over 50% you certainly can't say that any meaningful educational activity took place!
But that's the past. Now let's talk about the future.
If you insist in following this foolhardy path and forcing schools to stay open, then you can't use ignorance as an excuse if some calamity happens next year. The school district will likely be liable for damages and you personally will bear the responsibility should even one student be injured!
Other than proving you have the power to do it, what positive purpose did your decision serve?
For the sake of safety and propriety please return the holiday to the calendar that corresponds with Good Friday.

posted by admin @ 8:05 AM