The Roanoke Valley looks to be putting to rest this year’s calendar deliberations that were at times dramatic (well as drama filled as calendar talks can be) as local education officials looked to Richmond for flexibility with their schedules.

Roanoke Times I File photo

Roanoke City Public Schools officials are poised to adopt a 2013-2014 calendar (with a pre-Labor start) after discussing the issue Tuesday. Salem and Roanoke County have already adopted schedules. Salem after Labor Day and the county before, per their respective traditional start dates.

Here’s a look at the area’s calendars: Salem, Roanoke and Roanoke County.

This year’s calendar drama came in when local education officials were left to wonder whether the General Assembly would do away with Virginia’s long standing “Kings Dominion law,” which stipulates schools must begin after Labor Day. They didn’t. Though lawmakers did manage to tuck away a provision in the state’s budget bill allowing school systems that already had a waiver to retain it.

So for now an early start date is preserved. What do you think? Should schools start early? Should local schools officials have the flexibility to determine whatever start date they’d like?