The District 55 School Board approved the 2010-11 school calendar Monday night during its regular meeting.

Next school year will start on Sept. 7 and end on June 16, with graduation on June 10.

Christmas break is scheduled to begin Dec. 20 with school starting again on Jan. 3. Spring break will run from March 21 to March 25.

The schedule includes six paid holidays and 18 nonpaid days off. It also includes three grading days, six in-service days, four parent-teacher conference days and two early release days districtwide and an additional early release day at the high school for graduation.

Board member John Fassler suggested moving a week of Christmas vacation to the end of the year to allow students to begin summer vacation earlier.

The board voted 7-1 for the calendar. Voting yes were Leena Neuschwander, David VanDerlip, Chanz Keeney, Chairman Mike Reynolds, Jenny Daniels, Jason Redick and Dale Keene. Fassler voted no.

In other business, the board:

n Hired Tim Porter, Sweet Home High School Athletic Director, as halftime curriculum director. He succeeds Jan Sharp, who retired last month.

n Declared audio-visual equipment, broken pumps and sheets of plywood surplus.

n Accepted the donation of a 1987 Toyota pickup from Leon K. Ohnesorge.

n Approved policy revisions on personal communication devices and social media.

n Approved changes in its Linn-Benton-Lincoln Education Service District service plan.

n Appointed Jeff Lynn to the Budget Committee, Cascadia position. The district has not had anyone from the Cascadia area apply for the position. The board also reappointed Kari Bennet to the Crawfordsville position.

n Adopted math textbooks for kindergarten through fifth grade. A committee of elementary teachers evaluated new math textbooks and concluded that none were a good match for Oregon stats. The committee recommended waiting for textbook programs to improve as publishers align with national standards.

In the meantime, the district purchased hands-on math materials where they were needed and analyzed existing textbooks to identify which parts do match the new math standards and those areas that need to be supplemented. The district will continue providing additional supplements as it can.

n Received a grant of $1,065 from the Community Health Partnership to help pay for the Kidpak weekend food backpack programs at Hawthorne and Foster elementary schools. The program provides food to children who go home to empty cupboards each weekend.