CHARDON, Ohio — The Chardon School Board is set to vote on the 2027-28 Academic Calendar at their regular meeting Monday at 5:30 p.m.
The move comes amid a push by some in the district to start classes after Labor Day rather than the proposed August 18 date.
A petition drive launched to gather support for the idea has collected more than 750 signatures.
"With our Ohio weather, it makes a lot more sense to start after Labor Day," said Genny Pavlick, a mother of three with two children in Chardon Local Schools, who started the effort. "Being stuck in those old buildings in early August when it's sweltering hot outside is not really a great learning environment for our kids."
Nearby Cardinal Local Schools made the same shift this academic year, and Berkshire Local School District implemented the change the year before.
Part of the push coincides with the Geauga County Fair, which is typically held Labor Day weekend. The oldest fair in Ohio typically attracts around 300,000 people.
Geauga County Commissioner Jim Dvorak told News 5 in February that he supports the later start date, particularly because it would eliminate the need for students to often take excused absences to participate in activities such as 4-H.
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"This is the biggest small business growth right here," Dvorak said. "You have a project with an animal, you buy the product, you do bookkeeping, what are you using for grain, you sell it and 95% of the kids that do sell their projects at the fair goes to a college. How can you dispute higher education and small business at the same time?"
Michael Hanlon, the Chardon Superintendent, acknowledged in a statement and a phone conversation with News 5 last month that there are "a number of sometimes competing factors" when preparing an academic calendar, including learning loss, state testing, sports, extracurricular activities, and coordination with nearby non-public schools that provide transportation.
"School districts work to thread the needle when considering these factors to develop an academic calendar that satisfies as many of these concerns as possible," he said in a statement. "The Chardon Board of Education values community feedback and will consider comment on the calendar proposal."
"Our focus is on starting the conversation and letting them know this is something we really, really want as a community," Pavlick said.
