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Some important changes have been made to the public school calendar for the upcoming 2013-14 school year.

Following recent rounds of parent and school employee surveys, Superintendent Barry Anderson recommended that the school board approve the most widely popular of three suggested calendars.

A great deal of discussion at Thursday night’s board meeting covered all aspects of the scheduling proposal, and a unanimous decision was made to approve the calendar.

Parents will see some notable changes in next year’s schedule, including a later start date and additional time off around Thanksgiving.

Anderson said that the start date - which is scheduled for August 7 - is later than it has been in approximately twenty years in our district. He said that parents as well as teachers and school staffers seem to prefer the shift, which will also mean the school year lasts a bit later, until May 27, 2014.

Starting later also means a slight shift in the typical fall and spring break schedules. Fall break will begin on Friday, October 4, and students will return to class on Monday, October 14. Spring break will run from Friday, March 28 through Sunday, April 6.

Anderson said that by moving around some scheduled days off, they were also able to give students a full week off for Thanksgiving without adding those days onto the end of the school year. He explained that the Monday and Tuesday prior to this holiday are usually very low attendance days, and he feels like this will be a popular and beneficial solution to that problem.

The school board also voted to approve plumbing renovations at both H. W. Wilkey Elementary School and Grayson County High School over the coming summer. While the plans currently in place would not interfere with the approved schedule, Anderson mentioned that unexpected things often happen in situations like this, and the board discussed what would be done in the event that these schools were not ready for student use on August 7.

Should renovation issues arise, all of Grayson County’s public schools will remain on one altered schedule - Lawler Elementary students, for example, will not go ahead and start as planned if students at either GCHS or Wilkey cannot. The board discussed building in a number of potential make-up days into the upcoming school calendar in case this happens.

In other school district news, the board approved the design for their new central office building. The group explained that a few small changes were made, including narrowing the hallways in order to gain a little more office space. A representative from the architectural firm Clotfelter-Samokar explained that no notable cost changes were brought about by the plan alterations.

The group also approved the purchase of the Educational Ladder building located at 610 Mill Street in Leitchfield.

According to Assistant Superintendent Doug Robinson, the structure was purchased with the intent or moving Wilkey Elementary School’s preschool classes and Family Resource (FRC) program in before next school year.

Two of the three preschool classes as well as FRC are currently housed in two trailers at the rear of the school’s main parking lot.

“We still have to meet with some of our principals and get a game plan to work out all the details,” Robinson said, adding that the purchase will likely be finalized in the next month or two.

He said that some renovations will be necessary, and “our goal is just to kind of get it ready for next school year.”

Other items approved by the board included:

- The creation of two new positions for the Wilkey 21st Century Learning Grant. Positions will include a part-time program director, a certified position; and a full-time site coordinator, a classified position.

- Three GCHS trips were approved including an FCCLA Conference and State Competition which twenty students will attend at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville on March 24 - 27; an Academic Team State Tournament at the Galt House in Louisville from March 16 to 18; and a Tennis Team trip to Lexington on Friday, March 15 to compete at Lafayette High School and attend an Asbury College tournament.

-GCMS Band Director Gary Parker was approved to take twenty students to the All-District Band rehearsals and concert at Meade County High School in Brandenburg on February 15 and 16.