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The first calendar, a traditional one, would start Aug. 17 and end June 5.
The second, a year-round calendar, would begin July 20 and end May 28.
State law precludes district calendars from beginning before the third week in August without a waiver -- a waiver that likely won't be given to a district unless it chooses a start date in mid-July.
While the committee's first three meetings were relatively free of debate, Thursday's meeting was marked by divisions between parents and teachers who favor a year-round calendar and those who do not.
After committee members listed benefits of a traditional calendar, including that it does not hinder high school athletics, Faye Alston, a parent at Lady's Island Elementary School, which uses a year-round calendar, said, "I just think this whole process was a sham." The traditional calendar does not include several, week-long intersession breaks.
"The children have no room," Alston said. "The teachers have no room."
Alston also criticized the committee's make-up.
"We are top-heavy in teachers and school administrators. We don't have a strong voice from the other side."
The committee is made of more than 30 parents, teachers, district administrators and school principals. Parents make up about a third of the group. The committee has yet to have every member attend.
Cesar Gonzalez, a parent at Hilton Head Island Middle School, said he didn't understand why the committee still was considering a year-round calendar when the majority of schools nationwide don't use them. He also said he didn't think the calendar positively affects student performance.
"If it really increased academics, I think I would go with it right away," he said.
Catherine Smith, a district official, suggested each committee member create an unbiased pro and con grid and consider which side has the most pros. That information can be discussed at the next meeting, she said.
