FCPS recently decided to not approve an amendment to the FCPS school calendar that would allow the county to get Veterans Day off. School board member Elizabeth Schultz from Springfield hoped to change the FCPS calendar two weeks ago during FCPS’ workshop to create next years school calendar. Schultz hoped to change the calendar with her reasoning being that Veterans Day is the only federal holiday not recognized by FCPS.

“If we have a holiday celebrating the ‘discovery’ of America by Christopher Columbus, we should have a holiday respecting the veterans who stood and still fight for America,” sophomore Annie Pham said.

Schultz and board member Megan McLaughlin from FCPS’ Braddock district also mentioned that Fairfax County has many children from military families attending schools in the county.

If Veterans day was to be acknowledged as a holiday in the Fairfax public school system, many other changes would have to be made to the school calendar. To many, the added holiday seems unnecessary.

“I don’t think Veterans Day should be a school holiday because it doesn’t apply to every family,” junior Ricky Lam said.

The county only allows for three extra days for inclement weather out of the 180 required days of attendance. These days are built into the school calendar and expected to be exclusively used on inclement weather. Many students are hoping that in exchange for a new school holiday they won’t have to give up an inclement weather day.

“I hope we get Veterans Day off because it gives us an extra day off of school,” sophomore Michael Ryan said.

The question regarding the participation of Veterans Day participation is also relevant and the reason the school board decided to not give students Veterans Day off. School board member Janie Strauss from Dranesville pointed out that keeping students in school would give them an opportunity to learn about the history of Veterans Day.

“If students were off they likely wouldn’t even participate in events to honor veterans,” Strauss said.

Schultz proposed two separate amendments to the 2014-2015 FCPS school calendar, both giving students off for Veterans Day. The FCPS board voted on the new calendar on Dec. 5, and both of the proposals failed with a 10-2 vote.