No Easter in spring break

Fairfield Schools are considering breaking the traditional tie between Easter Sunday and spring break.

There are plenty practical reasons for such a move. Easter moves around from year to year, but the needs of the school districts aren't so flexible. The need to prepare and give state-mandated curriculum tests, without worrying about a week-long interruption in the calendar has been cited by the school officials proposing the change. Easter will be April 8 this year, but in 2008 will be two weeks earlier, on March 23, and in 2009 will fall on April 12.
Officials would like to nail spring break to whatever week of the year includes April 1.

There certainly is logic to the proposal, but tradition has tied the break to the Christian holy days of Easter and Good Friday for so many years that there is bound to be some objections.
Set aside the religious considerations -- trips to the beach or late ski trips to Colorado are as traditional as lillies in the American concept of "Easter Vacation."

But what happens when one district, or even one region, changes the calendar. Will it throw things out of coordination with the rest of our world? Disrupt family travel plans?

On the other hand, will disconnecting Easter from the secular rites of Spring Break restore a sense of reverence that many have lost for celebration of the holy days?

Let us know what you think.