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Board amends calendar: students’ last day moved to June 13; June 16 set as staff half day
Summary
The Wallingford Board amended the school calendar so Friday, June 13 will be the last day of classes for students and Monday, June 16 will be a half day for teachers and paraprofessionals; the board discussed pay impacts for hourly staff and paraprofessionals.
The Wallingford Board of Education voted to make Friday, June 13 the final student day of the 2024–25 school year and to schedule Monday, June 16 as a half day for staff, including paraprofessionals.
Superintendent Belizzi told the board the district had previously set Friday, June 13 as graduation and that, "based on the snow days and things that we've had thus far, that would leave us to Monday, June 16 as the last day of school, tentatively." She presented the board with contract and operational implications for teachers, nurses, paraprofessionals, food service and transportation.
Board discussion centered on which employee groups would lose pay if students did not attend Monday, how many hours hourly staff work, and whether paraprofessionals could be assigned to work that day to avoid lost wages. Board member Missus Versace raised concerns about paraprofessionals and suggested they could be used by building administrators to help close out the year; Superintendent Belizzi responded, "We can definitely accommodate that." The district’s operations staff estimated the potential cost impact to paraprofessionals at about $13,600 total if the district lost that day of scheduled work.
Food service, whose staff are typically hourly, would be affected depending on whether students attend. Director Bondi explained that food-service employees usually perform kitchen clean-up the day after the last student day for about two to three hours; if students attended a half day on Monday, the district would still serve breakfast and lunch on half days and staff would be paid for a full day. The board discussed bus runs and noted the district could save some money on in-district routes if students did not attend Monday, although certain runs (for parochial schools) would still be required.
After discussion, a motion to amend the last day of school passed: students’ last day will be Friday, June 13; Monday, June 16 will be a half day for teachers and paraprofessionals. The superintendent recommended the half day for staff to allow teachers to "organize finish organizing classrooms, close-up for the summer"; she added it was the board’s discretion but said, "I think a half day would be appropriate." The motion carried on a voice vote.
