The Richland Two Board of Trustees approved the 2012-13 academic calendar Tuesday, choosing a plan advisers described as less popular.

The plan eliminates mid-Winter Break, which will take place in Richland Two for the first time from Feb. 20 to Feb. 24. Board members were split on whether or not to include the break again in 2013, but ultimately voted 5-2 against it.

The full 2012-13 calendar is shown in the attached PDF and on the Richland Two website.

Board member James Manning vocally supported the adopted plan because he said the mid-Winter break put unnecessary burdens on families and teachers.

"Option B is by far superior for educational reasons and logistical reasons," Manning said. "I've found that the majority of schools in South Carolina that are similar in nature to us and [in neighboring states], the majority of them have a long weekend."

Representatives from the District Calendar Design Team told the board that 75 percent of the district preferred Option A, which included the mid-Winter break. The board voted on that plan first, but it failed 4-3.

Board member Stephanie Burgess said her research about the break showed positive results for school districts nationwide.

"Most other states used that calendar and had fairly good student outcomes," Burgess said. "I know we don't have any solid data from this district, but I did look at other districts."

The board had hoped for feedback about this year's mid-Winter break when making the decision for 2013, but that data likely won't be available until the summer.

Burgess and board member Barbara Specter voted against the approved calendar.

In a Patch poll from late January, 62 percent of voters said they thought the mid-Winter break should be removed.