School set for holy day

After weeks of debate, the Winchester School Committee has decided to open school for classes on Good Friday next year -- a move that is not sitting well with some residents and area Catholics.

The committee's position makes Winchester one of the few districts in the region to hold classes on the Friday before Easter, observed by Christians in commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Government offices and most schools in the state are closed.

To accommodate families, the committee is formulating a partner policy that would allow parents to keep their children home on the holiday without penalty. Nonetheless, some are not pleased. Raymonda Haviland-Hickey, a resident, said she was appalled, adding the committee should reduce the number of week-long vacations during the academic year so schools can observe all religious holidays.

"Students need to have a moral compass," she said. "I am not talking about religious education courses, but a community should show respect for all religious beliefs."

Haviland-Hickey said she expects many parents and teachers to voice displeasure when the policy takes effect. The New York "Stock Exchange is closed on Good Friday. Why can't Winchester do the same?" she said.

Superintendent of Schools James Marini said the decision was made after the School Committee wrestled with the idea of incorporating other religious holidays into the school calendar. He said a growing number of parents had asked that school be suspended on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and at the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Adding days off for Jewish and Muslim holidays would lengthen the school year -- a problem because of a lack of air conditioning in the buildings and a tangle of issues with teachers' contracts -- so a majority of the board thought it was only fair to observe none. Christmas will remain because it is a national holiday and falls within a week-long winter break.

"Public schools cannot be in the business of deciding on which religious holidays to observe," said School Committee member Samuel Kounaves. "It appeared that people wanted other religious holidays off, and if we were to give too many, it would become unmanageable. We can't play favorites."

Heidi Guarino, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, said the state has no formal position on the practice.

"Each district is responsible for setting its own calendar," Guarino said, adding that as long as classes are held for the required 180 days a year, the state has no opinion on which days schools are closed.

Church officials, however, said religion needs to be considered when elected officials draw up calendars.

"Good Friday is one of the most sacred days in the liturgical year for Catholics. Good Friday and other major holy days are observed by nearly 2 million Catholics here in the archdiocese and more than 1 billion around the world," said Terrence Donilon, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston.

"With our world becoming increasingly secularized, many people are losing sight of the importance faith has in the lives of people of all denominations. Our hope is that our elected officials would allow people of faith the opportunity to observe one of the most important days in the life of their church."

Sarah Swiger, chairwoman of the School Committee, said the board debated the issue through four long public meetings. To date, she said, only two parents have commented directly to the board on the change -- one positive, one negative.

"We all understand that this is not a small change. School districts have had Good Fridays off for as long as anyone can remember, but we want to value every family and our community has become much more diverse than Christianity and Judaism," said Swiger. "This is a very challenging set of circumstances to try to balance."

She said the board wanted to "separate church and state, but at the same time be fair to people and not penalize students for missing class on religious or cultural holidays."

That balancing act means no homework will be due, no tests will be administered, and no field trips will be planned on religious holidays, allowing families to keep their children home from school without significant consequence.

Among the area's 34 communities, only Shirley and Winchester plan to be open on Good Friday. Bedford holds a half-day professional development for teachers, according to the school calendar.

In North Reading, the School Committee recently voted to close schools on Good Friday because attendance dropped off to the point where the change was needed, school officials said.

"The change was made because staff members had wanted to observe religious services and, by their contract, have a right to take a religious observation day," said Superintendent David Troughton.

Troughton said that there has not been much reaction to the decision, but he anticipates some feedback when the buildings close. "We'll see how it goes next year," he said.

Groton-Dunstable Regional School Superintendent Alan Genovese said although his district observes Good Friday, it was a departure from his experience in education. Having worked in other parts of the state and familiar with practices across the country, Genovese said it was unusual to have a day off from class on a religious holiday. Genovese said the Athol-Royalston Regional School District stopped observing Good Friday in the 1980s.

In Winchester, Marini said he stands behind the School Committee's decision.

"The board made a philosophical decision on equity," he said. "I have to commend the School Committee for taking on a difficult issue and making a difficult decision. We will have to see how it plays out next year."

Melissa Beecher can be reached at mbeecher@globe.com.