Loudoun School Board Adopts 180-day Student Calendar for 2023

The School Board on Tuesday adopted a 180-day student calendar for the 2023-2024 school year that would have classes start Aug. 24, more than a week before Labor Day. The board majority rejected efforts to reduce the number of teaching days and to add a Veterans Day school holiday.

The calendar passed on a 6-3 vote, with Denise Corbo (At-Large), Tiffany Polifko (Broad Run) and Ian Serotkin (Blue Ridge) opposed.

The Adopted schedule has students starting Thursday, Aug. 24 with the last day June 14. It has students in school for 180 days of instruction, a four-day Labor Day weekend, and a shorter winter break. It also has teachers starting their school year Aug. 16 and ending June 18, working 194 days.

Serotkin proposed an amendment to make Nov. 10, Veterans Day, a student holiday and having both students and teachers start one day earlier, on a Wednesday for students. He said feedback he’s received from veterans was that they wanted their children home on the federal holiday.

“Veterans Day is the only holiday where we send our students to school and make our employees work,” he said. “Every year our veterans community reaches out and asks why and I never have a good answer for them. We don’t treat any other federal holiday like this.”

He said students don’t need to be in school to learn about and honor veterans.

Chair Jeff Morse (Dulles), a 20-year U.S. Navy veteran and a son and grandson of veterans, got emotional when expressing why he wouldn’t support the amendment.

“Every year when I go into the schools, I talk to the veterans who are there with their kids and I ask them: Is this important for you to have the day off? Would you prefer to have it at home, or would you prefer to come into your child’s school and celebrate it with them? I have yet to have a veteran tell me that they would rather have the day off,” he said. “They can’t do it the day before. They don’t have the day off. They get a federal holiday they can take advantage of. They can be in the classroom with their child. As a military child, I’ve seen it. I know the impact of bringing your family member into the school and seeing the look on the faces of those kids. It’s amazing. It’s something parents and relatives look forward to every year.”

Several board members said they had received split feedback form the veteran community on the matter. The amendment failed 1-8, with only Serotkin supporting the additional school holiday.

Corbo advocated another proposal which included 175 student days, a start date of Monday, Aug. 28 and the last day being June 12. It also had a shorter winter break.

Board members voted against Corbo’s plan, arguing that after the COVID-19 years and after hearing from parents, students need to be in school more. Several board members also objected to the Monday start date, saying students and parents are used to school starting on a Thursday to give them both days of their block schedules before jumping into a longer week.

Chief Human Resources Officer Lisa Boland asked the board for direction on what board members would like to see moving forward, with the goal of establishing a regulation or policy to simplify the creation of future calendars. She gave the example of the length of winter break, or a preferred start day of a Thursday versus a Monday.