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Board reviews proposed 2025–26 school calendar; teachers report deviation vote to repurpose 5 minutes of contract day
Summary
The Derby Board of Education heard a presentation on the proposed 2025–26 school calendar and related staff-approved deviation at its Feb. 10 meeting.
The Derby Board of Education heard a presentation on the proposed 2025–26 school calendar during its Feb. 10 meeting and discussed changes intended to reduce chronic absenteeism and give staff consolidated work time.
Kathleen O’Brien, a science teacher at Derby High School and president of the Derby NEA, told the board that certified staff had voted on a deviation of the negotiated agreement needed to repurpose five minutes of the contract day. "Of the 659 eligible votes, we had 445 respondents, which met our 50% threshold, and then it was approved 83.1%," O’Brien said. She said that approval allows the calendar to be presented with the deviation already calculated.
Superintendent Heather Bohaty said the calendar committee focused on attendance data and looked for ways to reduce low-attendance half days by converting some into full work days for staff. The proposed changes include moving several in-service days to times when staff training is most useful, converting some half days into full teacher work days at the end of grading periods, and a modest shift in school start times so most buildings begin five minutes earlier (for example, Derby High would move from 8:00 a.m. to 7:55 a.m.). Middle schools would not change from their current start times.
Administrators told the board the change is a repurposing of existing contract time rather than an extension: "The contract day did not get longer," an administrator said; instead, short daily prep periods would be consolidated to create meaningful, uninterrupted staff work time.
Board members discussed likely family communication needs if the change is approved, the impact on siblings with different school start times and on student breakfast logistics, and noted that many buildings already operate under a soft-start schedule and would see little change. The district plans to communicate details to families if the board votes to adopt the calendar.
