Harford County Monday became among the first of Maryland's larger school systems to commit to a calendar in which classes will begin after Labor Day next September, adhering to Gov. Larry Hogan's executive order that public schools must have the post-holiday start.The 2017-18 school year in Harford County will start on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, the day after Labor Day under the proposed calendar HCPS Superintendent Barbara Canavan submitted to the Board of Education Monday evening.Board members immediately praised how the calendar had been developed, with the governor's order in mind."I really appreciate the thinking that went into this," board member Al Williamson said. "I'm sure it was difficult, but I think you've done an incredible job of accepting what is probably a fait accompli and making it work, and it looks good."The proposed calendar shows the last day of school on June 7, 2018, if none of the seven inclement weather days built into the final week are used, or on June 15 if all the days are used for weather-related closings.The current school year started Aug. 25 and will end June 16, 2017, at the latest, if all nine inclement weather days are used.Hogan in August issued an executive order requiring public school systems across Maryland to start the 180-day academic year after Labor Day and to end no later than June 15 to give students a longer summer break and support businesses that depend on summer travelers.The move has been a controversial one, roundly criticized by many Democratic state legislators, school leaders at the county level and teachers unions. Legal challenges to Hogan's authority have been threatened, despite polls showing that the Republican governor enjoys widespread support around the state, including on the school start issue.The Harford school system, which has about 37,500 students, is the state's seventh largest. The county is staunchly Republican, and Hogan received 76.5 percent of the votes cast in Harford in the 2014 general election for governor.The Harford school board has six elected members, three members who were appointed by Hogan and a student member who has a vote on most issues, including adoption of the calendar.The draft calendar for 2017-18 will be posted on the school system's website, http://www.hcps.org, Tuesday and will be available for public comment for 60 days, Jillian Lader, manager of communications for HCPS, said.Lader, who chairs an ad calendar committee with a broad-based membership from the education and general communities, said the calendar will be back before the board for its final approval in December.Other highlights of the proposed 2017-18 Harford school calendar include:• Students will start their Thanksgiving break with an early dismissal Wednesday, Nov 22, 2017. The break, which has been a week long in past years by including three teacher professional development days, will return to full days off only on Thanksgiving Day and Friday, Nov. 24. Some parents have complained the long Thanksgiving break made it difficult for them to arrange child care the first part of the week.• Christmas vacation, termed Winter Break by HCPS, will start with an early dismissal Friday, Dec. 22 and last through Monday, Jan. 2, 2018.• Spring break, which is scheduled around Easter, will include Wednesday, March 28; Thursday, March 29; Friday, March 30; and Monday, April 2, 2018; however, the 28th and 29th are professional development days for teachers.• In addition to the two professional development days in March, there will be five before the first day of school, one in early November and two in June following the last day of school for students.• Students in all grades will be dismissed three hours early one day in all months, except March and June, to give teachers additional time for planning and professional development.Board member Robert Frisch asked why an early dismissal day had been scheduled for Sept, 15, 2017, about a week and a half after the first day of school."We wanted to make sure we got an early dismissal in September to allow for some additional professional development once the school year started going," Lader replied.She noted changing the day could be up for discussion, but she cautioned that schools also will be closed the next week, Sept. 21, for the Rosh Hashanah holiday, and that having the early dismissal Sept. 29 would put it too close to the next early dismissal day Oct. 19.Amanda Dorsey, the board's student representative, praised the early dismissal days as "a perfect balance for all of our students" because students then have some time each month to get a break."I think this calendar is a perfect example of adapting to the situation and really making the best out of it," she said.In response to Dorsey's comment, Canavan said that "when you go into something with an open mind, and you revisit it with an open mind, you can come out with something that is better than what you had."Board member Laura Runyeon, who gave input to the Calendar Committee along with Dorsey and board President Nancy Reynolds, said next year's calendar addresses parent concerns about Thanksgiving break and teachers' and administrators' concerns about professional development scheduling."This has addressed some of the issues that had been raised in the past," Runyeon said.