In a reversal of its previous decision, the Mt. Laurel Board of Education voted to change the first day of classes for students.
The first day of school will now be Monday, Sept. 9, changed from Friday, Sept. 6, to allow Jewish children in the district to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. The holiday begins at sundown Sept. 4 and ends the same time on Sept. 6. Rosh Hashanah represents the new year of the Jewish calendar and is traditionally spent in synagogue to reflect on the past year and look forward to the next.
As previously reported by The Sun, the board chose not to alter the calendar at a meeting on May 28 because it felt its data showed a low number of absences on the second day of Rosh Hashanah. Since that time, it has received a lot of correspondence from concerned residents hoping for reconsideration, which led to the change being discussed at last week’s meeting, officials said.
“We’ve received a number of calls, emails and letters asking to reconsider our initial decision, and we thank the community for their input and concern,” school board president Margaret Haynes said to open the meeting.
An unusually high number of people attended the meeting in support of the board’s decision to reconsider. Because of the large crowd, the item was moved to the top of the agenda.
Amending the calendar passed with a 5–2 vote. Vice president Maureen Sojka and board member Joanne Pelly were not present at the meeting.
Diane Blair and Marc Jones voted against, citing concerns of the message it may send throughout the district.
“I think we’re crossing a line. We’re doing something for religious reasons only,” Blair said. “I don’t think it’s my place.”
Jones voiced concerns about the impact it could have in the future.
“I’m worried about the precedent it is setting going forward,” Jones said. “This could become an issue with holidays in the future.”
Jones also commented that the tone of the debate was disappointing as well.
“I support vigorous debate, but some of what I’ve heard during this ordeal has been concerning,” Jones said.
Debbie Hochberg, who voiced concern originally at the meeting on May 28, was again in attendance on June 25 to show her support. She was happy with the board’s decision.
“I was pleased with the decision to move the start of school to Sept. 9. I was very proud of the Mt. Laurel community for working together to present the issue to the BOE. The decision made me proud to be a resident of Mt. Laurel,” Hochberg said.
Hochberg was not alone in her gratefulness to the board, as many members of the community used the public comment portion of the meeting to thank them for making the change.
The entire calendar is currently being revised to accommodate the new starting date and will be published on the district’s website as soon as it has been revised.
In other news:
• The board of education approved the purchase of three new school buses for a total cost of $183,588.93.
• The Springville walking track project was awarded to DiMeglio Construction for the amount of $22,215. The Springville PTO will reimburse the cost of this project.
