LAKEPORT — Students in Lakeport will begin classes on Aug. 15 next academic year after the school board voted in favor of the earlier start date Thursday.
Members of the Lakeport Unified School District (LUSD) Governing Board met Thursday evening in front of nearly 20 citizens to discuss the 2012-13 school calendar.
The district calendar committee presented two options: starting school Aug. 15 and ending May 31, or beginning Aug. 27 and wrapping up June 14.
The Aug. 15 date, which the board approved by a 3-2 vote, will align Lakeport schools more closely with other county districts and community colleges, provide more instructional time for students preparing for Advanced Placement (AP) tests and possibly let the teenagers get a jump on the summer job hunt.
An Aug. 27 start would have allowed high school students to work full-time later into the summer in industries like agriculture and tourism.
Two members of the public spoke in favor of the earlier start date while four others, mainly supporters of the pear industry, advocated for the later day.
The committee reported presenting the choices to district employees and receiving votes from 129 workers, with the final tally at 68 for Aug. 15 and 61 for Aug. 27.
“Although our school board greatly values our relationship with the local agricultural community, the board”s primary responsibility is to consider what is in the best educational interest of our students,” Superintendent Erin Smith-Hagberg said Friday.
“The August 15th start date has several educational advantages specifically for our high school students,” she added
LUSD classes began on Aug. 24, 2011 during the current academic year. The committee is set to present a 2013-14 calendar proposal to the board in March.
