Broward Schools may close for Muslim holiday

Broward could soon become the first school district in Florida — and one of only a few in the country — to close for a Muslim holiday.

Some school board members voiced support during a Tuesday workshop for a 2022-23 school calendar that gives students and teachers a day off on Friday, April 21, which is Eid ul-Fitr, a holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.

The school board has considered this option for several years at the request of the Muslim community, and most have supported it in concept, but the holiday has conflicted with certain standardized tests in recent years. In 2023, that’s not expected to be an issue, school district officials said.

“We’re trying to do the best we can do make it inclusive for all,” board member Ann Murray said.

Sarah Leonardi and Nora Rupert also voiced support for the holiday. Patti Good and Rosalind Osgood were absent Tuesday but have voiced support in the past, likely giving the issue majority support.

The calendar option school board members are favoring is actually the least popular of four options so far in a survey of parents, students and teachers. About 25,000 people have responded.

■ About 41% prefer a calendar with the first day of school Wednesday, Aug. 17, for students and the last day Thursday, June 8, with no Muslim holiday.

■ About 20% prefer a calendar where students start Monday, Aug. 22, finish Tuesday, June 13, and do not get a Muslim holiday.

■ Another 20% prefer a calendar that starts Monday, Aug. 15, and ends Wednesday, June 14, with April 21 as a holiday.

■ About 19% prefer a calendar that starts Wednesday, Aug. 17, and ends Friday, June 9, with April 21 as a holiday. This is the option members of the Muslim community and several school board members say they prefer.

But the last option may not be popular with one group — teachers. Their last day is always a day later than students, and a June 9 last day for students would mean they’d have to give up a summer weekend by returning Monday, June 12, which many don’t want to do, said Anna Fusco, president of the Broward Teachers Union. She said the first option appears to be the most popular.

Board members Lori Alhadeff and Debbi Hixon said they want to get more input from teachers before making a decision.

School districts around the country with sizable Muslim populations have started to add the holidays in recent years. These include Detroit and nearby cities, New York City and Montgomery County, Maryland, outside Washington, D.C.

were the first to sell out. Three-person blankets ($53 per person) and general admission folding chairs ($38) are still available at Ticketmaster.com.

Other upcoming performances in the series include Christian Finnegan, of “Chappelle’s Show” (Nov. 26), and late-night talk show regular Ted Alexandro (Dec. 10).

Dave Siegel has been a stand-up for two decades (he’ll perform at the Dec. 10 show) and a writer for shows hosted by Diane Sawyer, Don Lemon, Anderson Cooper and, currently, Ashleigh Banfield. He also does a very funny film-short series, “White Guy Indifferent,” with more than 60 million views on YouTube.

While Stephanie Siegel handled the business end of the project, Dave found the comedians. He describes the challenge of finding comics in the Venn diagram of being available, hilarious and able to work without offending diners at nearby restaurants.

“These are guys who have all been on TV. They know what ‘TV clean’ is. They’re able to adapt,” Dave says.

The idea for these comedy picnics came to the couple shortly after they moved with two young daughters from an 800-squarefoot Manhattan apartment to Boca Raton in February 2020. Stefanie Siegel’s parents live in nearby Highland Beach; Dave’s parents live in Delray Beach, and he has a brother in Boynton Beach.

When the pandemic hit, Dave could no longer travel to perform stand-up and the move took him away from the profusion of stages available in New York. Stephanie’s business — a former on-air reporter at WPIX in New York, she’s founder and CEO of TV talent development firm Reel Media Group — was also grounded.

“I needed a new project. I was going insane during lockdown,” says Stephanie, who describes her husband as “chill,” and herself as the opposite of that.

“We would just take drives in town with the kids. I know Boca. We got married here. That’s why we moved here,” she says. “We got to Mizner one day and I remember always thinking, this is the coolest venue. I just said to Dave, ‘Honey, can you imagine if some day we could create a comedy venue here?’ And that was it.”

There was a bit more to it. They began planning the series in the thick of COVID, with the original April 2021 opening postponed several times by the city of Boca Raton, operator of the amphitheater. Searching for an interesting way to distance the crowd, Stephanie found images of beach chairs on the “mini lawns” set up for concerts at New York’s Pier 17.

After a few phone calls, she found a manufacturer in China and purchased 150 of the chairs for VIP seating closest to the stage. She also bought 100 blankets, which will be the second tier of reserved tickets. The amphitheater offered use of 150 folding chairs for general admission seating in the back.

Each performance will be for an audience of nearly 600 in a space that seats 3,000.

The Siegels say the first three installments of Comedy on the Green are just the beginning of what they hope to do in South Florida. They are spending more than $20,000 to make these shows happen.

“We’re not the richest people. This was money that was going to go into savings for our kids’ college or it was going be invested in something we believe in,” Stephanie says. “I trust my hustle more than I do the stock market.”

Mizner Park Amphitheater is at 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. For information on upcoming shows and tickets, call 561-393-7890 or visit MiznerAmp.com. For tickets to other Comedy on the Green performances, visit Ticketmaster.com.

For information on Dave Siegel’s comedy, go to DaveSiegel.com.