The Palo Alto Board of Education will discuss and vote on the proposed school calendars for 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 at the District Office tonight.

Prior to tonight’s meeting, the Calendar Committee gathered feedback through surveys focused on the changes to the school calendar. Approximately 2,700 parents, 430 high school students, 165 high school staff and 310 elementary and middle school staff completed a survey, according to the information released online in the board packet.

The survey data revealed a strong preference by parents, high school students, high school staff and elementary and middle school staff for first semester finals to occur before winter break and for the school start date to be similar to the current date. Yet a calendar accommodating pre-break finals and maintaining the start of the school year no earlier than two weeks prior to Labor Day would require uneven semesters. Based on feedback collected from teachers by the district staff, year-long courses will remain relatively unaffected, while the curriculum for semester-long courses may be compromised, according to the board packet.

The Calendar Committee will offer two sets of calendar options for the board’s consideration tonight. The first option, recommended by the Calendar Committee, will have a mid-August start date, pre-break finals, and a school end date in late May. The second option is a more traditional school calendar, similar to the current calendar, according to Assistant Superintendent Scott Bowers.

Board members will vote on the final school calendar, but public comments may be heard before the decision, Bowers said.