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Calendar proposal: district to repurpose 5 minutes of the contract day after certified staff vote; board presented 2025–26 calendar
Summary
Teachers approved a contract-day deviation that repurposes five minutes of daily contact time. The calendar committee proposes shifting some half days to work days, adjusting in-service spacing and moving some breaks; the board reviewed the calendar but did not record final board approval at this meeting.
Derby Public Schools administrators and representatives of the Derby NEA presented a proposed 2025–26 calendar to the Board of Education on Feb. 10 that relies on a certified-staff deviation vote approved by bargaining-unit members to repurpose five minutes of the contract day toward student contact time.
Kathleen O’Brien, DNEA president and science teacher at Derby High School, told the board the deviation vote met the negotiated-agreement threshold: 445 of 659 eligible certified staff responded (a 67.5% response rate), with 83.1% voting to approve repurposing five minutes of the contract day. O’Brien said the deviation allows the district to present a calendar that redistributes existing contractual minutes rather than lengthening the contract day.
Administrators said the additional five minutes gave flexibility to convert several half days into work days, better space in-service days near Veterans Day and shift some in-service time to the start of the semester. Middle schools already use a soft-start schedule and will see little change; most other schools would start five minutes earlier (for example, Derby High School would begin at 7:55 a.m.). The administration said the repurposing does not change total contract days or total contracted time for staff, only how student contact time is scheduled.
Board members asked about communication to families, breakfast and arrival logistics and potential effects on sibling drop-off times; administrators said building-level schedules and a district communication plan would be provided if the board moves forward. The calendar was presented for board review; the transcript does not show a final board approval of the calendar at this meeting.
