A Connecticut school district is facing backlash after deciding to strip Veterans and Columbus days from its official holiday calendar in a controversial vote by the school board last week. Students at Stamford public schools will no longer get the day off on both holidays for the next two school years after the board voted 5-3 to remove them Tuesday night, the Stamford Advocate reported. 

<p data-t="{"n":"blueLinks"}">Board member Joshua Esses made a motion to wipe the holidays from the school calendar at Tuesday’s meeting, arguing that the school year cut too far into the summer — ending in mid-June. “We should make it shorter because it’s better educationally for our students,” Esses said of the school year — which is required by state law to have at least 180 teaching days for students, according to the local newspaper.