MONTPELIER –\u00a0Beginning in 2019, students in Vermont\u2019s public schools will have the entire month of December off. Parents are livid; teachers are celebrating; students don\u2019t know quite what to make of it. And the politicians are nowhere to be found.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did this ever happen,\u201d wondered Susan Crafton of Sheldon, VT. \u201cWas this discussed in the legislature? Were there public hearings?\u201d<\/p>\n
Crafton, a working mom, wonders what she will do with her 8 and 11 year old children next December. \u201cMy partner travels for work,\u201d she explained, \u201cand I can\u2019t afford to take the entire month off. This is America \u2026 we aren\u2019t Sweden!!\u201d<\/p>\n
Teachers have a different take on the issue. \u201cColleges close for a month during the holiday season,\u201d said Bruce Frender, a seventh grade teacher in Rutland Town. \u201cI think it only makes sense to give a similar break to all of Vermont\u2019s students and teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The question remains \u2013 and this is the major point of contention \u2013 Who or what was the force and funding behind this move? Governor Phil Scott deferred comment to the Department of Education. Vermont\u2019s Secretary of Education, Rebecca Holcombe, was unavailable for comment. Her office says she is traveling until mid-January. Vermont School Board Association president Geo Honigford referred The Winooski<\/em> to the Governor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the problem,\u201d said Careen McFugal of Shelburne. \u201cNo one seems to be responsible!\u201d There is suspicion that the Trump administration has a hand in this. \u201cThe motto for the whole thing is \u2018Make Vacations Great Again!\u2019 That tells you something,\u201d said McFugal, a Democrat. \u201cI don\u2019t know what,\u201d she said, \u201cbut it tells you SOMETHING!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"