During last Thursday evening’s meeting, the Bulloch County Board of Education unanimously approved a two-year school calendar.

School will start Aug. 1 for both the 2018–19 and the 2019–20 terms, and a five-day fall break will coincide with the proposed dates of the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair in both October 2018 and October 2019.

A calendar committee made up of several teachers, principals and central-office staff members had presented two options to school system employees in a December survey.

For the first year, Option 1, with the Aug. 1 start date, was preferred by 70.5 percent of the 766 school employees who responded, and for the second year this option was preferred by 69.7 percent of respondents, school system Chief Financial Officer Troy Brown reported Jan. 11.

After formally placing the decision “on the table” at the Jan. 11 meeting, the board took another week for public input.

Bulloch County Schools staff emailed the calendar options to all parents and also posted the options on the school system website and social media, reported Hayley Greene, the school system’s public relations and marketing specialist.

Of parents who responded, 44 percent also recommended Option 1 for both years, 36 percent preferred Option 2 and 20 percent offered feedback but did not have a calendar preference, Greene wrote.

The approved calendar contains 177 student days for each school year. Additionally, four potential make-up days are identified during each school year. These could be triggered by the superintendent if needed.

In addition to the break including Christmas and New Year’s Day between semesters, there are one-week breaks in October, November, February and April.

The calendars can be found online at the school system’s website, www.bulloch.k12.ga.us.