The Shelby County School board voted Tuesday night (April 6) on the official start date for the next school year.
Students in Shelby County will return for the next school year on August 9, 2021, WMC reports, and the final day will be May 29, 2022. The earlier start date combined with the current extended school year, which ends June 16, means the summer vacation will be shortened. The reason for the current year extending into mid-June stems from the delayed start date at the beginning of the school year, when classes began August 31, 2020.
Before the vote, the board was debating whether to go with the August 9 date or push back the start date a week to August 16. According to WMC, a survey sent out by the district showed that a majority of parents and teachers wanted the earlier August start date.
"It's going to be a shortened summer because of the extended school year this year, so it's going to be short one way or another on the front end or the back so I'm more concerned about the number of days they have in the calendar that are absorbent and should not be," said Keith Williams, executive director of the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association.
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