Fayette County students will be starting school the second week in August for the next three years, the Board of Education decided Monday night.

The decision came after board members agreed with the larger number of residents that voted for their favorite of the four possible calendars on the school board’s website.

Beginning in 2009-2010, the first day of school will fall on Aug. 10 with the last day of school on the last Friday in May before Memorial Day.

Students will be out for Thanksgiving break during the last full week of November and again for Christmas break, set for the last two weeks in December.

The next block of time off in 2009-2010 comes when students will be out of school for winter break during the third week of February. And rounding out the list will be spring break during the first full week of April.

A total of 1,208 votes were cast for the four calendars that carried different dates for beginning and ending the school year. Of those participating, 39.7 percent voted for calendar #2, the one selected by the board. The three other calendar options received 28.5 percent, 23.3 percent and 8.5 percent of the vote.

By design, the entire calendar is essentially the same for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years. In both years, the first day of school will be Aug. 9 with the last day of school coming May 27.

While considering the idea of approving a multi-year calendar, school board members referred to requests by some parents whose jobs required bidding on vacations a year or more in advance.

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