Board OKs calendar; Okaloosa schools to start Aug. 5 (CALENDAR)

FORT WALTON BEACH — Classes will begin Aug. 5 in Okaloosa County.

After tying the vote at their last meeting — one board member was out sick — the Okaloosa County School Board voted 3-2 Monday night to approve calendar B for the 2010-2011 school year.

Under the new calendar, students will receive three days off for Thanksgiving and end the first semester at Christmas break. Classes will end on May 19.

Check out the 2010-2011 school calendars for Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties here »

Board Chairman Rodney Walker and board member Cathy Thigpen voted against the calendar, voting instead for calendar A, which was nearly identical to the current school calendar.

“We’ll keep this simple tonight,” Walker said then. “I think it’s time we get us a calendar.”

Monday night’s vote came after eight people — including Fort Walton Beach AP students, teachers and parents — addressed the board.

Only two parents spoke in favor of calendar A. The other six speakers, all from Fort Walton Beach High School, asked the board to select Calendar B.

“The most important thing you look at when looking at these calendars is academics,” said Fort Walton Beach junior Sam Ammons. “No other factor should play in; it’s just school.”

The selection of calendar B came two months after the calendar committee first met and began looking at options for next year’s school calendar. The early start date is a new option this fall after the state passed a statute enabling high-performing school districts to begin school earlier than low-performing districts.

Initially, four calendar options were proposed and, after rejecting one of those, parents and district staff were asked to vote on their preferred calendar from the remaining options. After none of those calendars garnered a majority, the calendar committee voted to hold a runoff and ultimately decided that calendar A be recommended to the School Board for a vote.

Neighboring Walton County also opted to take advantage of the early start date, and classes there will begin on Aug. 12. Santa Rosa County, on the other hand, voted to keep the later start date and will begin classes on Aug. 23.