The conversation on whether to modify its school calendar is growing louder in the South Kitsap School District, which has released two models for the public to compare to the current schedule.

The district said in a brief statement, “At this time the calendar committee has developed two potential calendars to provide more frequent breaks throughout the year, which would eventually be used to offer learning enrichment/make-up opportunities for district students.”

An advisory survey sent out by the district lays out the two alternatives.

Option A would welcome students back in late August and add a midwinter break spanning the entire week of President’s Day.

Option B would have a similar target start date but would include a weeklong fall break in the last week of October on top of the President’s Day break. The school year would end in mid-June and late June, respectively, as a result.

Option C reflects the current calendar, with a post-Labor Day start and finish in June.

The district started exploring last year a new and balanced calendar, a topic people like former school board director John Berg had encouraged the board to consider. Adopting such a calendar could offer assistance in decreasing learning loss suffered in the summer break while allowing an increased number of smaller breaks for some much-needed relief from the burnout of the school year.

The survey asks respondents to rank the calendars on a scale of 1-3 based on preference. Among the other questions asked are what the respondent considered most important in a student-centered academic calendar among the following options: timing of breaks, an eight-week summer break minimum, a calendar aligning with neighboring districts, or shorter breaks more often throughout the year.

Another option is also available, giving the respondent a chance to type their own answer.