Draft 2026–27 calendar proposes format similar to current year; committee flagged semester/trimester scheduling tensions

District staff presented a draft calendar for the 2026–27 school year at the Steamboat Springs School Board meeting April 7 and proposed keeping the same calendar format used this year, with minor date adjustments. The calendar committee recommended a small shift of days between August and June so the school year would end after Memorial Day with a final teacher-contact day on the following Friday.

Presenter Dr. Tim Ritter said the proposal keeps the existing structure but noted friction between schools that operate on semesters (the high school and one other) and the majority that use trimesters. The draft as presented would leave first semester with 79 days and second semester with 90 days under current counting; staff said testing schedules (AP, SAT/PSAT and other end-of-year assessments) mean the numbers tend to balance in practice, but high-school staff expressed reluctance to move days out of the first semester and into the second.

The calendar committee discussed options to add or remove days in August or June. The committee reported its preference for adding a final teacher day in June rather than shortening the August start; however, because semester schedules complicate shifting instructional days, staff recommended keeping the format largely unchanged for 2026–27.

Next steps: staff said the draft will be posted for the required 30-day review and the board will be asked to adopt the calendar after that period. Staff also noted the committee’s long-range goal to develop a three-year calendar through 2029–30.

Ending: Board members thanked the calendar committee; no final calendar vote was taken at the April 7 meeting.