SAD 29 board to decide on split harvest break

HOULTON – After a decade of sporadic debate, a decision about the future of the annual SAD 29 potato harvest recess could be made by early next year.

During a school board meeting earlier this month, the board reviewed a cost analysis that was compiled by Superintendent Steve Fitzpatrick to illustrate the financial impact of a split harvest break.

If adopted, SAD 29’s split-break policy would allow seventh- to 12th-graders to adhere to the customary practice of taking three weeks off each fall to help growers harvest potatoes.

Pupils in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, however, would receive only one week off.

According to the analysis, a split break would cost the district a little more than $25,000 if it is approved, a figure that reflects costs for transportation and wages – SAD 29 still would need to shuttle elementary and middle school pupils to school for the two weeks that they are not out for harvest recess and pay affected teachers and other staff.

“I think that this plan makes sense,” Fitzpatrick said Thursday. “I expect that the board may make a decision on the matter next month. There is a lot of feedback to consider, but I suspect that the board wants to make a decision about this soon and move it off their agenda.”

In recent years, some have argued that the three-week break is disruptive to education and asked that it be discontinued. Others have praised the virtues of the recess and asked panelists to keep it going.

Last December, the school board discussed the future of the recess after 661 parents of children in SAD 29 responded to a harvest survey that questioned them about their thoughts on the break. Of those, 194 favored continuing the break and 467 were opposed.

At a public hearing later that month, however, no one spoke out in favor of discontinuing the break. Instead, many supporters of the recess spoke approvingly about the responsibility and work ethic that students learn while working during the potato harvest.

In January, the school board agreed to postpone a decision on the break’s future and directed Superintendent Steve Fitzpatrick to organize a committee to brainstorm ideas about how to deal with the annual recess.

That committee eventually suggested that a split harvest break might be the best idea, and Fitzpatrick compiled a cost analysis to illustrate the financial impact.

The superintendent has speculated that the split break could be the “compromise” for parents, the school board and potato growers.