Evanston’s two school boards are scheduled to consider this evening whether to hold classes on some days that traditionally have been holidays.
Evanston Township High School board members will be voting on whether to cancel the Columbus Day and Pulaski Day holidays.
The board held a hearing on the subject last month and the resolution up for approval tonight says the holding school on Columbus Day would let the district schedule a three-day break at Thanksgiving every year and that holding classes on Pulaski Day would provide three consecutive days of school leading up to parent-teacher conferences the first week in March.
District 65 is scheduled to hold a hearing tonight on whether to continue to hold classes on Lincoln’s Birthday and Columbus Day and whether to start holding classes on Pulaski Day.
The district’s teachers union wants to keep the Pulaski Day holiday and reinstate the Columbus Day holiday.
Some parents have voiced support for holding school on both days, favoring fewer breaks in the school schedule and noting that very few private sector employers give their workers the day off on Pulaski Day.
Illinois is the only state that declares a Pulaski Day holiday. The event, on the first Monday in March, honors the Polish-born cavalry officer who trained soldiers in the American revolutionary war.
The District 202 meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Room N112 at the high school and will be streamed live online.
The Distrcit 65 meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the district’s administration center and also will be streamed live online.