Denton school board members unanimously voted in approval of the district’s 2009-2010 school calendar Tuesday.

With a slight difference in designated bad weather days, the next academic year’s calendar is practically identical to the current school year.

School board President Charles Stafford said the current calendar has worked fairly well for the district, and trustees saw no need in changing something that didn’t need fixing.

He said that lobbyists pressure the Legislature to start the school year later in August, Denton has been able to work in that framework and find “a really good calendar.”

“It’s a decent calendar,” Stafford said. “People have adjusted to it, and we try to do the best we can do with the limitations placed upon us.”

The new school year is scheduled to start Tuesday, Aug. 25, following a teacher preparation and staff development day on Monday, Aug. 26.

Students will be released from school Nov. 25-27 for the Thanksgiving holiday, and winter break is scheduled to start Dec. 21, 2009, and continue throughout Jan. 1, 2010.

Spring break will be March 15-29, 2010. The school year will conclude on Thursday, June 3, followed by a teacher/staff day on June 4.

The fall semester is scheduled to end Friday, Dec. 18, 2009, and the spring semester will begin Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010.

In addition to the Thanksgiving holiday and winter and spring breaks, students will also be off from school Sept. 7 for Labor Day, Jan. 18 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and May 31 for Memorial Day.

If needed, two bad weather days — Friday, April 2, and Monday, May 24 — have been built into the 2009-2010 schedule.

BRITNEY TABOR can be reached at 940-566-6876. Her e-mail address is btabor@dentonrc.com.