The Daily Five: Happy Presidents Day! School Vacations, Budget Up For Debate This Week

1. Today will be sunny but windy, with occasional gusts of 40 mph or stronger. The high temperature won't reach much more than 34 degrees and will dip to a low of 25 degrees tonight, according to weather.com. It should be mostly clear, with a few clouds tonight when there's a 10 percent chance of precipitation.  

2. It's Washington's Birthday, a national holiday celebrated as Presidents Day, which means all federal, state, and local government offices are closed, as are schools. 

3. East Lyme School District will be closed both Monday and Tuesday of this week for February recess. This used to be a weeklong vacation but was curtailed to just two days following Tropical Storm Irene, after so many school days were lost. The same scenario is playing out again this year, first with Superstorm Sandy and then with the recent blizzard. 

The Board of Education is currently in the process of setting the school calendar for 2013-2014 and is seeking input from parents before they vote on the issue on February 25. The district is torn between going back to a full week off for February or sticking with just two days.

At last week's Board of Education meeting, East Lyme School Superintendent James Lombardo said that, so far, most people seem to be in favor of keeping it short. 

4. Lyme-Old Lyme Schools are also closed today and tomorrow and, like East Lyme, the district is also keeping the February break to just two days. Following the blizzard, the district has revised the school calendar for this year, bumping back the final day of school (tentatively) to June 24. 

5. The Public Forum on the Lyme-Old Lyme School District's proposed budget for 2013-2014 that had to be postponed because of the blizzard is back on the calendar again this week. The forum will be held on February 20 at the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. The Board of Education could decide to vote on it later that night.