Dist. 300 to hold classes on Veterans Day

Instead of playing the video game "Call of Duty 4," students in Community Unit District 300 now will be able to hear the real stories of local warriors on Veterans Day.

The District 300 school board approved the 2009-10 calendar Monday night, striking Veterans Day from the list of holidays on which students can stay home.

The change sparked a discussion over which was the more appropriate way to honor veterans on the holiday named in their honor: to observe the school holiday, or to hold classes and teach students about veterans during the day.

The school board decided in favor of the latter. All five board members present voted to request a waiver from the state to hold classes on Veterans Day.

Superintendent Ken Arndt, who proposed the change, said most students now "do nothing to understand the significance of Veterans Day."

"Our staff wants to do something special to honor veterans on Nov. 11," Arndt said.

About 10 area veterans attended Monday's public hearing on the issue. Most spoke in support of honoring veterans while school is in session.

"We are all in favor of holding classes," said Lowell Reiser, president of the Hampshire VFW Post 8043. "Let's get to what it means. It's Veterans Day, not a holiday."

The positive response from local veterans stood in contrast to the opposition Arndt encountered during his first attempt to hold classes on Veterans Day about five years ago, according to the superintendent.

Arndt said District 300 was one of the few districts in the area that did not hold classes on the Nov. 11 holiday.

The 2009-10 school year is scheduled to start on Aug. 31, 2009, and end on June 8, 2010, not including snow days.