No More Spring Break for Sartell-St. Stephen Students [AUDIO]

SARTELL - A difficult night for nearly 200 Sartell students, parents and teachers after a final decision to get rid of the annual week-long spring break in March.

The  Sartell-St. Stephen school board made the motion to end discussion after 45 minutes of heated testimony and presentation of two different petitions.

The issue, while not officially on the board's agenda, stems from a 4-2 vote on January 23rd in favor of ending the break .

It's a decision that angers parent Nicole Oftedahl. She says many people feel the board did not give the community enough time or information in advance of that meeting.

Sartell junior Hannah Tilstra seconds this opinion. She's one of the students who has organized the sales of "Sartell Spring Break" t-shirts, and she calls the board's decision not to discuss the issue after so much protest "disappointing."

However, acting school board chairman Patrick Jacobson-Schulte says they received feedback from both sides of the issue, and, despite the high turnout, those at the meeting don't speak for the whole community.

Schulte adds it was a tough choice, and says students are still welcomed to take a break in the spring -they just need to work out the details with their teachers in advance.