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School committee approves 2025–26 calendar after third reading; debate on religious holidays surfaces
Summary
After a third reading and brief debate, the School Committee unanimously approved the 2025–26 school-year calendar. Members discussed consolidated parent-conference timing, religious observance days and potential bargaining implications; one member said she would prefer eliminating holidays entirely.
The Framingham School Committee unanimously approved the 2025–26 school-year calendar on its third reading Wednesday after administrators described the changes and committee members discussed trade-offs.
Superintendent Dr. Thomas Tremblay told the committee the calendar was the result of collaboration with the Framingham Teachers Association and other stakeholders and sought to "balance as many full weeks of school as we can," consolidate parent conferences into a day and a half, and allow for virtual professional development to protect buildings on election days at the city clerk’s request.
Dr. Tremblay also noted that the contract negotiation schedule builds a year of input into the calendar process, and that while the committee is being asked to approve this draft, the district will continue to gather feedback from families and the teachers’ association for subsequent years.
School Committee member Jen Moshe spoke up in opposition to adding another holiday to the calendar. "I would prefer to get rid of all holidays, to be honest," Moshe said, arguing that adding holidays can lead to requests for additional observances in subsequent years and that multiple religious observances create staffing and substitute-teacher challenges.
Despite that concern, the calendar received a formal motion to approve from Tiffany Maskell and a second from Rich Robles. The roll-call vote recorded unanimous approval.
Committee members emphasized the calendar remains subject to parental and union feedback in year two of the contract negotiations, at which point the district will evaluate whether the calendar model is replicable in future years.
Votes at a glance - Approve 2025–26 school calendar (third reading) — moved by Tiffany Maskell; seconded by Rich Robles; outcome: approved unanimously.
