Tonganoxie USD 464 board approves 2025-26 calendar with contingency alternate

The Tonganoxie USD 464 Board of Education on Feb. 10 approved the district's proposed 2025-26 school calendar, known in committee materials as Draft W, and authorized a reserve alternate calendar A to be used if the Tonganoxie Education Association does not agree to add two student contact days.

The board voted 6-0 to adopt Draft W after a presentation from the calendar committee, which said the recommended Draft W adds two student contact days by adding a student/teacher contact day on Jan. 6 and converting a professional development day into a student contact day on March 13. The committee also asked the board to pre-approve reserve alternate calendar A as a contingency to avoid a special board meeting if negotiations over the additional days change the calendar this summer.

The calendar committee member who presented the draft said feedback from a staff survey guided the recommendation and that reserve calendar A is nearly identical to the 2024-25 calendar because it removes the two proposed added contact days. "Based on the survey results, the calendar committee recommends that the Board of Education approve Draft W for the 2025-26 school year," the presenter said.

Board members asked whether approving both the primary draft and the reserve was premature. One board member said approving the alternate now would save the district from calling a special meeting in the event negotiations change the committee's recommendation: "It's really so we don't have to call a special board meeting if something were to happen in negotiations that we didn't agree to add those days," the member said.

Another board member said they preferred to approve the committee's top choice now and revisit the calendar if negotiations require changes. After discussion, a board member moved and another seconded approval of Draft W with an agreement to consider a future vote if needed; the motion carried 6-0.

The board approved the calendar during the action items portion of the meeting. The calendar committee thanked staff and noted the committee had produced multiple draft calendars and reserve options over several meetings.

The board's calendar approval includes no immediate changes to first-semester dates; the committee said both the additional days under Draft W would fall in the second semester. If the alternate calendar A is needed, the committee characterized the changes as limited to the two days noted above.

The district will finalize the calendar subject to the outcome of the district's negotiations with the Tonganoxie Education Association this summer; if the association does not approve the added contact days, the board's pre-approved alternate would be used instead.