Last Minute Calendar Change For Edison Schools

EDISON, NJ — The Edison Board of Education has made a list-minute calendar change for schools, shifting a day off in the first week of June for Eid al-Fitr.

Instead of being off on Wednesday, June 5, students will now be off on Tuesday, June 4. The change was approved at the May 20 Board of Education meeting and announced the next day.

The change was made for several reasons. June 4 is the Primary Election, and because the primary is shaping up to be particularly heated, it makes more sense to keep students home than pay for extra police, Shi said.

Crucially, Eid al-Fitr is not on June 5. Is it on June 4, and Shi said the decision to change the day off was made after speaking with members of the Muslin community.

Eid al-Fitr is an important Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting. The holiday was a last minute addition to the calendar last year, as the Board worked to add more snow days. Because the Muslim calendar is a lunar-based, the date changes anually.

The calendar change was not originally on the agenda for the May 20 meeting, but was added at the meeting through a motion.

Students will also have May 24 off, after not all of the allocated snow days were used.

Some Board members were apprehensive about the change, with Elizabeth Conway pointing out that many non-celebrating students were likely to have made plans, like doctors appointments.