Next year, Good Friday will no longer be a day off for district students and staff. The Joint School Committee ended the practice Thursday, March 27.

Committee member Michelle Cusolito was in favor of holding classes on Good Friday, which was the only day off in the district for religious purposes.

“We shouldn’t be recognizing a religious holiday in a public school setting,” she said.

Old Rochester Regional High School Principal Mike Devoll said informal discussions with staff led him to believe the change wouldn’t affect attendance that much.

“We should have good student attendance, but I have no data to back that up,” Devoll said.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Elise Frangos said legal counsel should be consulted. She said students shouldn’t be penalized for missing tests or other assessments scheduled if they observe a holiday.

Some committee members said students who don’t attend could make up the tests on another day, like any other religious holiday held on a school day.

The committee also discussed professional development days for teachers, a topic first discussed at the January meeting.

Tri-town schools usually have two half days and two full days scheduled each year – time off for students when teachers gather for workshops.

This year, staff benefited from an additional half day according to Devoll. He said holding back-to-back half days for staff would be “extremely valuable.”

Since the January meeting, administrators polled staff on the best schedule for development days, with an eye toward student education.

Eliminating the half-day on the day before Thanksgiving made the most sense, they said.

“It’s just not a good instructional day,” said Cusolito.

Devoll noted this past year student attendance was down 20 percent on the day before Thanksgiving. The committee voted to give students a full day off on Wednesday, Nov. 25.

The committee also voted to hold half days on April 1 and 2 for staff development.

Barring an excessive amount of snow days, the last day of school for students in 2015 will be June 16.