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Bentonville board reviews draft 2026–27 school calendar, asks families for feedback
Summary
The Bentonville School District Board of Education received a first reading of the draft 2026–27 academic calendar and directed staff to collect family feedback before a final vote in February.
The Bentonville School District Board of Education on Jan. 21 received the first reading of a draft calendar for the 2026–27 school year and asked district staff to solicit feedback from families and staff before the board votes in February.
District staff presented a single draft (draft A) developed by a calendar committee and the licensed PPC. The timeline outlined by staff calls for family and staff feedback to be collected through Jan. 31, an updated draft to be circulated to staff on Feb. 5, a licensed PPC vote on Feb. 11 and a final board vote on Feb. 18.
Board members and staff highlighted several calendar constraints staff used to shape the draft: the district must provide 178 face-to-face student days or 1,068 instructional hours under state rules for the instructional-hours model; teachers are contracted for 192 total days, which includes professional development and work days; and five additional makeup days (30 hours) must be allocated for inclement-weather makeups. Staff said teachers would begin on Aug. 3 with student start tentatively set for Aug. 11 under draft A.
Several board members raised timing and family-impact concerns. Members asked staff to consider whether starting Aug. 11 would require a waiver under state law and whether the district could shift teacher workdays or short weeks to push the student start later. Staff said legislation has been filed that could remove a required start-date restriction; staff advised the board to assume timelines and statutory constraints when giving feedback and said they would confirm specifics about any changes.
Board members also discussed winter break length and the placement of professional development days, noting some families prefer additional travel time before Christmas. Staff said the proposed calendar maintains balanced semesters—an objective the district emphasized because of semester course scheduling at the high school level—and that some dates are nonnegotiable (for example, federal holidays and the required week for spring break).
To collect public input, staff said the district will publish a Google form linked in the superintendent’s board recap and will ask families for open-ended feedback through Jan. 31. Staff also said they would consider adding brief guidance or examples on the feedback form to help families understand which calendar elements are flexible and which are constrained by law or district policy.
Next steps: staff will compile feedback for the calendar committee, distribute an updated draft to staff on Feb. 5, and return the calendar to the board for final approval on Feb. 18.
