The Fayette County Board of

Education has decided on a compromise of sorts with the 2003-04 calendar,

approving the third of three proposals at Monday afternoon's special called

meeting.

Superintendent John DeCotis

created the third calendar after a number of comments were solicited on

the first two proposals last month. The board in March tabled a decision

on the calendar to give students and parents some extra time to consider

all of the choices.

The 2003-04 academic year will

begin Aug. 11, 2003, with a five-day break scheduled for Thanksgiving

week instead of the customary three days. A five-day break has also been

added for February, with Christmas and spring break taking place as they

do now. The school year will end May 28, 2004.

The first proposed calendar

called for an Aug. 4 start, with a fall b reak

in late September, in addition to the breaks in the third calendar. The

second proposal had no fall break and only three days for Thanksgiving

but a sixth day for spring break.

The board followed DeCotis'

recommendation in approving the calendar. Janet Smola's motion to approve

was seconded by Marion Key,and the motion passed 3-2, with Terri Smith

and Greg Powers voting against.

DeCotis said that a number

of employers spoke out in support of the first proposed calendar, which

lengthens the school year and includes the most breaks. Henry County has

adopted a similar schedule which will begin this fall.

Starting a week earlier could

affect school construction and actually cause delays if new facilities

are not finished on time, DeCotis said. Other possible conflicts could

arise in interscholastic activities, he added, and buses could be adversely

affected from the summer heat.

Key suggested that a set of

criteria be established for future calendars to help the process go better

in the future. She pointed out that it might be a good idea to fix a calendar

and try it for two or three years, since the current system forces the

board to approve a calendar more than a year in advance, before the coming

year even starts. "We vote another calendar before we can even try

the next one out," she said.

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