The district has recently made a decision to shorten February Conference to two days instead of three, due to the high number of student absences on the days surrounding the break.  This year the district lost a total of $196,844, with $56,257 coming just from the Four Points area.  The Four Points area accounted for 7,453 student absences out of 35,281 absences for the whole district.  Four Points racked up the most absences for students out of every area in the district.

This change came as a surprise to many students and the administration.  The district has not released an official reason for the change, but one can assume it is because the district does not want to sacrifice any more revenue over student absences.  Of course, it is always better for the school if students are in classrooms learning, instead of skiing in Colorado.

Personally, I really enjoy having the three day break in February.  It’s nice to be able to go on vacation without having to deal with massive crowds of people.  It’s also a great time to take college visits, because you can really see the atmosphere of the school if the college students are there.  With the break being shortened to two days, it becomes harder to visit colleges out of state and take family vacations in the short amount of time we are given.  It was fairly easy to miss only two days of school, but since it is now three, the stakes are a bit higher and it is less tempting.

That being said, it is still really important to make sure students are attending school and learning.  When students skip, it costs the district major amounts of money.  It is better for both the district and students if students actually attend school.