Classes in the Minot Public School District will start Aug. 22 and end on May 20 for the 2019-2020 school year. Graduation in 2020 will be held over the Memorial Day weekend.

School board members voted 4-1 to approve the calendar, even though the results of a survey of district students, parents and patrons showed strong support for a calendar that would have called for classes to start after Labor Day in September.

Board member Miranda Schuler voted against approving the calendar with the Aug. 22 and May 20 finish because more people who answered the survey wanted to start after Labor Day.

“I think the student vote weighs on me,” said Schuler.

Parents who responded seemed to be more in favor of the traditional calendar, with the Aug. 22 start, said Supt. Mark Vollmer.

Vollmer said the committee that reviewed the results of the survey decided that a start after Labor Day would be difficult because other schools and organizations in the state start earlier. Finishing school in June would also conflict with extracurricular activities that take place earlier, such as planned band and choir trip, planned class trips to Europe, and the scheduling of sports practices. Advanced Placement class teachers noted that AP tests are given in early June and students would have nearly two weeks less of instruction time to prepare for those tests if school did not let out until June 7.

Parents who answered the survey were concerned about another proposed calendar option that would have given students two weeks off at Christmas. Some parents who answered the survey said they have a hard time finding day care openings during the Christmas break.

The graduation ceremony is normally held at the Minot State University Dome, which would not be available as a venue if graduation is pushed back into June 2020. Vollmer said the university normally uses the Dome for different sports camps in June. While the State Fair Center or the high school football field might be possible alternatives for a venue, Vollmer said neither seemed ideal.” A later start might also affect summer school.

Some teachers who responded on the survey also said they like starting before Labor Day and getting out before Memorial Day. Some teachers take college classes during the summer.

The committee just saw too many hiccups for that after Labor Day start, Vollmer said.

Board member Mark Lyman said the traditional calendar seemed least disruptive, while board member Laura Mihalick said she had not thought before about how the lack of day care options at Christmas might impact parents. Schuler also noted that several parents who responded to the survey expressed their displeasure about late school starts this year so teachers can undergo professional development training. The late school starts also disrupt family schedules. Board members Jim Rostad, Mitch Kraft, Lyman and Mihalick all voted in favor of the calendar with the Aug. 22 school start.

Vollmer said 3,468 people voted on the survey about calendar options. There were 248 staff members, 1,374 parents, 1,302 students, 422 teachers, and 117 patrons who responded.

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Calendar

2019-2020 school calendar approved by Minot school board on Thursday:

Aug. 22: first day of school.

Sept. 2: Labor Day, no school.

Oct. 17-18: Administrators convention, no school.

Nov. 11: Veteran’s Day, no school.

Nov. 28-29: Thanksgiving vacation.

Dec. 23-Jan. 1: Christmas vacation.

Jan. 2: Classes resume after Christmas break.

Jan. 20: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, no school for students.

Feb. 17: Professional development day for teachers, no school for students.

March 12-13: Spring break.

April 10-13: Easter break.

May 20: Last day of school.

May 24: High school graduation.