When Hunterdon Central school officials start work on the 2014-15 calendar this fall, representatives from the county’s Muslim community will likely be involved.
The school board had already decided it would involve religious leadersin planning the calendar when, on July 10, Yaser el Menshawy, chairman of the Islamic Center of Hunterdon County, wrote to the board of his community’s interest in participating.
The receipt of Menshawy’s letter was noted on the board’s Aug. 19 agenda, but the board did not discuss it.
The intent to involve religious leaders in planning the calendar is one of several proposed changes that stemmed from public frustration with a recent decision to limit days school can close for religious holidays to those on an official state calendar.
At nearly every meeting of the board from April to July, members of the area’s Jewish community pleaded unsuccessfully with the board to close school on Sept. 5, the first day of Rosh Hashana, among the holiest of Jewish holidays.
On July 17, the board’s Student Activities Committee recommended leaving the 2013-14 calendar unchanged, and Sept. 4 remains the first day of the 2013-14 school year.
The committee did agree to address diversity in future school calendars and said it would get input from religious leaders of various faiths before a calendar is voted on by the full board.
“There are two major holidays in the Islamic religion,” wrote Menshawy: Eid-ul-Fitr, the feast that follows the fast of Ramadan, and Eid-ul-Adha, the feast of the sacrifice. Because Muslims, like Jews, follow a lunar calendar, the holidays regularly move around on the familiar Gregorian calendar.
“We understand that there are many aspects that impact upon this issue,” wrote Menshawy, “however, we remain confident that with good will and effort, this issue can be brought to an amicable conclusion.”
The district will also use its Principal’s Forum and “a survey” to gather input about the calendar, Superintendent Christina Steffner said on Aug. 20.
Neither a start date nor a specific process to develop the 2014-15 calendar has been set, and Jewish and Islamic leaders may not be the only ones consulted.
“We have been contacted by several other religious groups in the area who would like to be represented in the process,” Steffner said.