Baltimore County Public Schools will remain closed on the High Holidays for the 2018-19 academic year following an extended debate.
The county school board on Tuesday night voted 9-3 to approve the academic calendar for the next term with the district closing on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur, as it has for the past two decades.
“I am pleased the board listened to the community, teachers, parents and students and recognized that given the large percentage of Jewish teachers, staff and students, there was an operational need to close the schools on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,” Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, told Jmore on Wednesday afternoon.
“It was estimated that even if they were able to find enough subs [substitute teachers] to cover all the classrooms — and there’s no guarantee they would find enough — it could cost the school system between $300,000 and $500,000 to pay them for only two days.”
Libit said spring break would only be shortened by one day in order to make the schedule work.
The debate centered on keeping the schools open for the High Holidays or having an extended break in the spring around Easter.
The calendar had to be reworked following an order by Gov. Larry Hogan that the state’s public schools should begin after Labor Day and end by June 15. The requirement was aimed at extending the summer and boosting state tourism.
Hogan publicly opposed opening county schools on the High Holidays, as did Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, County Councilwoman Vicki L. Almond (D-2nd), Del. Shelly L. Hettleman (D-11th), Sen. James Brochin (D-42nd) and state Sen. Robert A. “Bobby” Zirkin (D-11th).
The BJC and the Baltimore County PTA Council opposed opening schools on the holidays. In a news alert dated Oct. 1, the BJC informed Jewish community members that the Baltimore County Board of Education was deciding between two calendar options for the 2018-2019 academic year.
Libit told Jmore last month that he sent the email to constituents because he felt that some people in the community “might have strong feelings” about the change. He stressed that the decision to close the schools on the holidays was not religiously motivated. “The courts have ruled that public school systems are not permitted to close for ‘religious reasons,’ only for operational needs,” he said.
In the past, he said, “There was a large number of Jewish teachers and students. … There was trouble finding substitute [teachers], and a number of schools had very few teachers and students attending on the High Holidays.”
Although there is no hard data showing how many Jewish teachers currently work in the BCPS system — the school system is not allowed to ask faculty or students about their religious affiliations — Libit said he believes the number is sizable.
Libit said between 12,000-14,000 Jewish students live in the county.
School board member David Uhlfelder estimated that it would cost the school system up to $500,000 to pay for the substitute teachers needed to fill in for Jewish teachers who take off on the holidays.
“It’s not a religious issue. It’s a question of economics,” Uhlfelder said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Baltimore County has significant Jewish communities in Pikesville, Mount Washington, Owings Mill and Reisterstown. Baltimore City keeps its schools open for the High Holidays.
The county school calendar also was amended at Tuesday’s meeting to switch one professional development day to June 5, which is the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. Muslim families in the county have long lobbied to have schools closed on their holidays.
Other school districts in Maryland have approved calendars for next year that either keep the schools open on one or both of the Jewish holidays, or remain closed on the holidays.
The JTA international news agency and wire service contributed to this report.
Also see: Baltimore County Public Schools May Stay Open on High Holidays
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