UTICA, Mich. (WXYZ) — Utica Community Schools extended its winter break by two days.
They made the announcement on Dec. 11.
Students will be off for winter break beginning Monday, Dec. 23 and returning to school on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020.
The district released the following statement about the change:
UCS continues to bargain in good faith with its teachers’ association. As such, the calendar is part of this process. Working collaboratively, we mutually agreed to another component of the district calendar.
An important factor that impacts the school calendar is a change in state law related to professional development days. We have submitted our plan to the state to address these changes and are awaiting final approval.
Liz Parkinson, the president of the Utica Education Association, released this statement:
The Utica Education Association shares and empathizes with the frustration being experienced by parent community in Utica Community Schools regarding the school district’s late request to extend the holiday break two days (January 2 and 3) through January 6, 2020. While we continue to bargain with UCS for a contract that still has not been settled, UEA did receive a request from UCS at the end of last week regarding the two-day holiday break extension and signed it as soon as possible, on Monday of this week, so that parents could be notified. This was not a calendar change we recommended and one that the district asked us to approve. This is another example of the community suffering from the continued dysfunction of the UCS Board Office leadership and why the UEA filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge against the Utica Community School District (UCS) for multiple violations of the Michigan Public Employment Relations Act on November 4.
