Marion/Florence USD 408 students will begin school Aug. 18.

The first break for students will be Nov. 25-27 for Thanksgiving.

Winter break will begin Dec. 23 with a half-day.

Students will come back to school Jan. 5. Spring Break runs March 15-19.

The final day of school is May 27, the Thursday before Memorial Day.

Graduation is set for May 22.

In other business May 13 the board:

• accepted the resignations of Bruce Rhodes as junior class sponsor and Lucas King as Marion High School Key Club sponsor.
• after a 30-minute executive session followed by two 15-minute sessions, the board approved Michael Ayers as middle school English teacher, 7-0.
• approved transportation and a driver for MHS forensics students to MCI Airport in Kansas City. The students will travel to New York City this summer with sponsor Janet Killough.
• accepted a request from Marion/Florence FFA to participate in an annual leadership retreat in Colorado. A female sponsor also was approved for the trip.
• voted 7-0 to allow superintendent Leiker to hire two or three people as part-time summer help. Leiker said one would help with outdoor maintenance, while two would be hired for indoor cleaning.
• appointed Bart Peace as a member of the Marion REC board. USD 408 appoints two members, the City of Marion two, and the four members then nominate a fifth at-large member. USD 408 board member Keith Collett stepped out of the room during the vote, which passed, 6-0.
• approved Susan Hall and Diane Jeffrey as MHS cheer sponsors.