There will

be no Friday start date for Fayette County schools in 2002.

The Board of

Education Monday night rejected a calendar for the 2002-2003 school year

calling for classes to start Aug. 9, and adopted instead a calendar with

a Monday, Aug. 12 start date. The board adopts its calendars two years

ahead of time to give parents plenty of planning time.

A calendar

committee presented two proposals for consideration last month.

At the time,

board members said they didn't think much of the idea. "I think it's

totally ridiculous," said board Vice Chairman Greg Powers. "We

need that weekend to get everything ready and prepared," he said,

adding that contractors usually are pushing to finish construction projects

in time for school to start, and this would put even more pressure on

them.

"People

already feel they're being robbed of their summer," said board member

Janet Smola.

The board Monday

also rejected a separate proposal for five early release days, to give

teachers extra staff development time.

"We feel

that it's a very needed thing," said Pam Riddle, director of elementary

school operations, in presenting the committee's recommendations. Students

would be released two hours early Sept. 25, Nov. 6, Jan. 29, March 5 and

April 30.

"For elementary

school kids, that would put them out at 12:30," said Powers. "That's

five days out of the year people are going to be totally inconvenienced,"

he said, adding that some schools don't even finish serving lunch by 12:30.

The Calendar

Committee also offered a two-day early release proposal instead of five,

but the board rejected both.

Under the adopted

calendar, school will be out for Labor Day Sept. 2, for teacher conferences

and staff development Oct. 17-18 and Feb. 14-17 (also President's Day),

for Thanksgiving Nov. 20-22, for winter break Dec. 20 - Jan. 3 (returning

Jan. 6), and for spring break April 7 - 11.

Last day of

school will be May 23.