As we are all aware, this past year the district decided to change our beloved three-day February break to nothing more than an extended long-weekend. This choice was made based on the fact that the district’s higher-ups wanted to decrease absences following the break. I personally think this is not there best idea.

February break is a time that families count on to go on vacations and avoid the commotion of spring break crowds. Yearly ski trips and visits to tourist-hot spots such as Disney World and New York City are customarily taken over this break. Typically these trips flow into school days, causing many absences and costing the district a lot of money. I agree that this can be problematic, but I don’t agree that taking away one day is going to change it.

In fact, I think the exact opposite of what the district is hoping for will happen. I predict that families will continue on with the plans they had before the change and the district will simply lose another day of money. Four days is simply not long enough for a full vacation. February break has been instilled in all of our heads as a break, so people are still going to go on vacations. Instead of canceling the trip all together, they will just sacrifice another school day absence.

Even if you aren’t going on a trip, the shortened break is a let-down. The past 11 years I have been a student at LISD I have cherished this little break. Because three days is a majority of the week, it feels like you have the entire week off. Although one day is only a mere 24 hours, it makes a world of a difference in a school week.

Also, you can’t do as many fun things. Typically this break is one of my favorite excuses to explore the city and the surrounding areas. It is the time of year when I go to the outlet malls, when I visit Fredericksburg or climb Enchanted Rock. Yes, I will still have time to do most of this, but it just won’t seem as much like the “staycation” it was before.

This shortening is not only going to have the opposite effect that is wanted, but it is also making a lot of people upset. I say that when it comes time to decide what they want to do for next year, the district should revert back to its treasured three-day break.