If you are like most districts in Michigan, you are either just wrapping up, in the midst of, or just beginning your spring break. Since we have this break, we can let our minds wander a bit and wonder why all the constituent districts of the ISD have the same spring break. 

Under MCL 380.1284a, ISDs are required to work in cooperation with their constituent districts to establish a common school calendar. The calendar must establish with winter and spring break periods for the current year and projected out for the next five years.  

MCL 380.1284a was added in 2007 as a way to help school districts and ISDs potentially save money by harmonizing their break schedules. It was argued that as ISDs were providing more and more services to their constituent districts, they were not seeing enough cost savings because of the varied break schedules. By synchronizing the break schedules, the ISD and constituent districts would be able to maximize savings by all being off at the same time. This way, an ISD providing transportation services would be able to close for a break, versus just scaling down services in the break window, and having to coordinate variable staffing levels.  

Interestingly, Michigan had considered this idea before 2007 (as the old adage goes, there are no new ideas in Lansing). In 1993, as part of the school reform package that followed in the aftermath of Proposal A, the original Section 380.1284a was originally added. That section allowed for coordination of the school calendars by the ISDs, ostensibly for the same purpose of saving money. It was soon thereafter repealed in 1996. Eleven years later, it was added back in as we see it today. 

MASB’s Legal Services and Labor Relations departments are here to serve you in you have any questions on this or any other matters.