OSWEGO — Labette County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to restore the Juneteenth holiday for county employees this year, reversing action they took last week.
On Jan. 13, commissioners set the 10 county holidays as normal during the annual reorganizational meeting. This is also the meeting where new elected officials take office after getting sworn in. Commissioner Vince Schibi was elected chairman in that meeting. Commissioners also kept the county holidays at 10 for 2025 but allowed the Juneteenth holiday to be taken on Friday, Dec. 26, so employees could have the day after Christmas off without using a personal day. This action would have required county employees to work on the federal Juneteenth holiday.
Commission Chairman Vince Schibi said Juneteenth would remain a county holiday.
The Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in 1863, but slaves near Galveston, Texas, didn’t hear about the proclamation until June 19, 1865. So this day has been celebrated as Freedom Day and was made the Juneteenth national holiday in 2021 and a state holiday in October 2023, though the first time the holiday was taken in Kansas was in June 2024. The county adopted the Juneteenth holiday in 2023 when setting holidays for that year.
After the commission’s decision, some commented on social media pages about the county removing the Juneteenth holiday. Taylor Moreland of Parsons wrote to the Parsons Sun and KLKC Radio about the issue. She noted that Tana Johnson and other members of the Southeast Kansas Juneteenth Foundation had worked hard to make sure people were informed of the day and to bring the community together to celebrate it and all African-American history, “history that wouldn’t have been made had … emancipation not occurred.”
“To recognize July 4th so adamantly in America but dismiss a day that literally shaped the course of our nation is deplorable and a big showing of the lack of equality and consideration within our community. To make this divisive decision is an immense disrespect to the public,” Moreland wrote. She wrote that the better solution would have been to allocate money so county employees could have the extra day off. “This is embarrassing and gives Labette County an image as a place of complete inequality, which will not help attract new residents to our area.”
Schibi wrote to the Sun on Monday that the commission had no ill will toward the Black community. “Obviously, this was unintentional and a mistake. I will be seeking a solution that is acceptable to all parties involved.”
On Tuesday, Schibi repeated that there was no ill will meant in the decision and that the holiday would have been restored in 2026.
“It was unintentional. It was basically a business decision to help the employees. But in the meantime, we offended the Black community because we just put Juneteenth in ... and here we are pulling it the first chance we get,” Schibi said.
He asked other commissioners if they had thoughts on the issue. None shared anything at the time.
Schibi made a motion to let county employees have Dec. 26 off and keep the Juneteenth holiday, giving county workers 11 holidays in 2025 instead of 10. He said the decision would not cost the county much “but it will keep all sides happy.”
In 2026, county employees would again have 10 holidays, including Juneteenth. Christmas will be on a Friday in 2026 so that shouldn’t create the same issue.
Commissioner Tom Barrett seconded Schibi’s motion. He said he understood the cultural meaning of Juneteenth and that Schibi’s motion offered a solution.
Schibi said that county employees before 2023 had 10 holidays as well, but one was a floating holiday. Commissioners designated Juneteenth as a holiday and eliminated the floating holiday, keeping the holiday count at 10.
Commissioner Terry Weidert said he fears that employees could try to hold commissioners to 11 holidays next year, but he hoped they would understand the reason for the decision this year.
Barrett said commissioners should have thought about the issue more before deciding.
“I think it’s fair to say it’s not going to happen again. Because we’re all going to be smarter,” Barrett said.
Commissioners voted 3-0 to restore Juneteenth and keep Dec. 26 as an 11th holiday for employees. They approved a resolution to implement the change after the vote.
Moreland said she was grateful for the commission's action on Tuesday.
“All we could ask was that they listen and understand, and that’s what they did. This was a learning opportunity and it means something that they were willing to learn. I can’t express how much I appreciate not only them rescinding the decision but Commissioner Schibi providing an explanation and an apology. I know moving forward there will be a stronger relationship and trust between the public and the commission,” Moreland said in a email.
