The Minneapolis school district's decision to start the next school year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan will hamper relations with families who already consider the district culturally callous, new school board member Hussein Samatar said.

The first day of Minneapolis' 2011-12 school year is Monday, Aug. 29, which conflicts with Eid, the three-day Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. Samatar unsuccessfully tried to persuade school officials and the school board to change the start date.

For years, Minneapolis has lost students to charter schools that cater almost exclusively to Muslim students, because families see the charter schools as more sensitive to their culture, said Samatar, a Muslim Somali-American.

"We had an opportunity, as a district, to send a signal that we are culturally competent, we are sensitive, we understand and we are welcoming everybody," said Samatar. "We are sending a signal that they are not as welcome as they thought" they were.

Ramadan, the Islamic calendar's ninth month, occurs at a different time each year; Aug. 1 is the start date in 2011. Samatar said he would not expect the district to call school off later in the fall.

"This was a unique opportunity," Samatar said. "We could have waited this time."

Postponing classes until Tuesday, Sept. 6, would have allowed Muslim students the opportunity to observe the holiday without missing class, while giving all families several extra days of summer vacation. The Minneapolis schools could not provide an estimate of how many students may miss the start of school while observing Eid.

Samatar has a child who attends a kindergarten through eighth-grade school in Minneapolis and who will miss school. Two of Samatar's children attend the Blake School, a private academy where classes begin Aug. 30, a date that could still conflict with Eid.

In both places, absences for religious observation are excused.

The Minneapolis schools' Calendar Committee considered the end of Ramadan when assembling the schedule, Associate Superintendent Theresa Battle told school board members this week. But in the end the committee decided it was more important to maximize the number of days students are in class before springtime high-stakes tests, including the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment exams, Battle added.

The school board approved the calendar this week on a 5-3 vote. Kindergarten students will start Wednesday, Aug. 31.

Board members Rebecca Gagnon and Richard Mammen sided with Samatar in voting against a pre-Labor Day start. Gagnon wants Muslim holidays to receive the same consideration as Christian holidays.

"We're affecting a pretty big population," Gagnon said. "I'm having a hard time [understanding] why."

Corey Mitchell • 612-673-4491