School district settles on calendar

Manatee County students will head back to school earlier this fall.

As part of the tentatively approved 2015-2016 school year calendar, the School Board established Aug. 10 as the official start date for students, and May 25 as students' last day before summer break.

Last school year, students returned to school Aug. 18, 2014 and will end classes June 5.

The district approved the calendar at its April 14 meeting, but parents, district officials and school employees can email feedback to [email protected], on the calendar, which is available under the Hot Topics section of the school district's homepage — http://manateeschools.net.

Prior to recent legislation approved by Gov. Rick Scott, students couldn't begin classes before Aug. 24. But, the changes to students’ start dates allow two additional weeks of instruction prior to the first round of Florida State Assessments.

Good Friday now falls during Spring Break — a recommendation officials received from community members during the public input period.

School Board member Charlie Kennedy said he's happy with the calendar and believes the district granted obliged with all of the community's requests for the upcoming school year.

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected].