August 12, Mundelein. August 13, Stevenson. August 21,…

Lake Zurich had its first day on August 21, but why does Lake Zurich start the school year so much later than the rest of the schools’ that surround it?

“We have tried to change the start of school ever since Michael Egan was superintendent, but he, along with other members of the committee, said that the reason why we start so late into the school year is mainly based on the fact that not all of our schools have air conditioning. If we started school earlier, then we would have to have more hot days since it gets to be really warm in August. ” Karen Marchand, English teacher, and member of the calendar committee said.

All of the schools except for Seth Paine, Middle School South, and the old May Whitney have air conditioning. 

If school started later in the year, it means that students could have the opportunity to have final exams before they would leave for Winter Break. 

“I wish we would start the school year earlier because then it would make sure we would have final exams before break, and we would also get out in late May, so we have all of June and July to ourselves,” Freya Freimark, sophomore, said.

If finals were before Winter Break, then students would have to get adjusted to a shift, since final exams count for 20 of a semester grade.

“I would not mind having finals before break because then I would not have to worry about studying for finals after break, and it would also be nice to start school when it would be too hot outside to do a lot of activities,” Amelia Brazis, junior, said.

With May Whitney being redone and set to reopen, and MSS and Seth Paine on track to get air conditioning by 2022, students may get the opportunity to start school earlier in the school year.

“Now that we have plans in motion to get air conditioning in all the schools within the next three years, we may be able to move the school day to better match other schools in the district,” Marchand said. “It also depends on what the other people on the committee think about [starting earlier] and question if it would be worth it to start earlier.”