We all have memories of sledding and snowball fights on the days we were fortunate enough to have school canceled as a child, but for some students, the snow day is a little more complicated.

“In the Jewish faith, the Sabbath or Shabbat, begins at sunset on Friday and continues to Saturday evening,” Rabbi Jennifer Feldman said. Shabbat is essential to the rhythm of Jewish life. School on the Sabbath forces Jewish students to choose between their religious commitments and their secular education.”

Feldman, along with other members of the community, spoke in front of the CHCCS Board of Education, to discuss the dilemma that Jewish parents go through when schools have to hold classes on Saturdays to make up for days canceled by snow.

“Our students should not have to choose between Jewish observance and academic progress,” she said. “Jewish students and their families should not be forced to choose between communal celebration and public education. Jewish teachers should not have to choose between their job and their religion.”

So far, the school system has not had to hold class on Saturday this academic year, but did so twice in 2015. Feldman and Jennifer Weinberg-Wolf asked the board to create working groups to help come up with possible solutions.

“Because of the pressing time issue we feel and immediate task force to look specifically at the 2016-2017 calendar is imperative,” Weinberg-Wolf said. “In addition, were requesting that the board or administration convene an ongoing working group to look at the calendar for the district as a whole.”

Board member Andrew Davidson said he was in favor of the working groups and wanted to get community involvement as well.

“Our community has demonstrated an understanding of the challenges we face, rather than asking us to shoehorn an unworkable no Saturday school policy,” he said. “I think they recognize the challenges we recognize which is it’s going to take more than just a simple policy. It’s going to take some work and some community input.”

The issue becomes more complicated due to a law passed in 2012 that creates hard start and end dates for North Carolina public schools. They are not allowed to hold classes after the Friday closest to June 11.

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