Vermont Schools to Celebrate Islamic Feast | FrontPage Magazine: "The Burlington, Vermont School District does not give students a day off to commemorate the September 11 attacks, but on Friday, September 10, 2010 Burlington schools will close early for the weekend to celebrate an Islamic Feast.
Chaired by once-disbarred lawyer and admitted embezzler Fredrick Lane, the Burlington School Board on March 9 voted 8-1 to add Eid al-Fitr and Yom Kippur to the school calendar starting this Fall.
School officials claim it is all about maximizing attendance. The Burlington Free Press reports:
School Superintendent Jeanne Collins said Burlington High School Principal Amy Mellencamp told her and School Board members that about 75 of the high school’s roughly 1,100 students were absent on Eid last year. About 50 students are absent on a typical day, she said….
But, in 2009, Eid al-Fitr was on a weekend–running from sunset on Saturday, September 19 through sunset Sunday, September 20. In 2008, most of Eid al-Fitr fell on Tuesday, September 30–the same day as Rosh Hashanah. According to the Burlington daily,
(Board Chair Fred) Lane said the Burlington school system has long had a sizable Jewish population and now has an increasing number of Muslims. Jewish and Muslim students often take days off on their respective holidays. If the schools close the on those holidays, some of the attendance problems go away, Lane said."
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