Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

At the Lanett City Schools board meeting on Monday, the school board approved the 2021-22 school calendar.

Councilmember David Gagnon asked if the 2021-22 schedule format was similar to the expected 2020-21 school calendar. COVID-19 resulted in big adjustments to the current school year calendar, including virtual school for all students to begin the year.

“Prior to us making our adjustments on the calendar, it is [closely related],” LCS Superintendent Jennifer Boyd said. “As of now, there has not been any legislative mention of calendar mandates, so we’ve gone back to following the model that we’ve had in place.”

Teachers and staff will report back from the summer vacation on Aug. 3 while the first day for students will be Aug. 10.

Students will be off for Labor Day (Sept. 6.) and Veteran’s Day (Nov. 11).

Fall break will run from Oct. 18 to Oct. 20. Students will have three days off for Thanksgiving (Nov. 24-26).

Christmas break will run from Dec. 20 through Jan. 3, which will be the first day for staff. Students will return on Tuesday, Jan. 4.

The LCS will be off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 17) and President’s Day (Feb. 21).

Spring break will run from March 28 through April 1.

The final day for students will be Tuesday, May 24, while teachers and staff will finish on Wednesday, May 25.

The first quarter will run from Aug. 10 through Oct. 12. The second nine weeks will go from Oct. 13 through Jan. 7. The third quarter will be Jan. 10 through March 15, while the final nine weeks will go from March 16 through May 24.

The board also approved for the LCS to adopt a new PHIP policy which will allow the district to pay the insurance allocation for the employees that are hired during the year.

“It benefits those who are hired mid-year,” Boyd said. “Normally, they don’t earn enough toward that insurance allocation, and they receive a COBRA statement during the summer months to pay for their insurance. What this will do is it will allow the school district to pay those allocations during the summer months for those employees.”

During her superintendent’s report, Boyd announced that graduation was set for May 28 at 8:30 p.m. The baccalaureate service will be held on May 23.

More information will be available at a later date.

“We’re hoping to allow our students to participate in as much as possible as long as it can be done in a safe manner,” Boyd said.

Boyd also announced the district will receive $43,225 from the state while the district’s second round of CARES Act money will be $2.673 million.

“It is an extensive process. However, rest assured that we will get that application in, and we will take advantage of those funds, so we can address some of the learning loss that has been anticipated due to COVID-19,” Boyd said.