District seeks input on 2027–28 calendar; staff preserves October break and Monday late starts

The Verona Area School District staff presented survey results and draft options for the 2027–28 school calendar and said they will preserve two October days off, a February wellness day and late-start Mondays for professional learning.

Marcy (district staff member leading calendar development) told the board the district received 1,161 family responses and 457 staff responses. Survey results favored keeping the two October days off and the February wellness day; late-start Mondays were also valued for professional learning communities. "All families and staff both really value those two days off in October," Marcy said. Staff noted, however, that some families and staff expressed concern about childcare and scheduling when those days fall during the school week.

The presentation also addressed alignment with nearby districts and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Respondents asked the district to try to align spring break with neighboring districts where practical, but staff noted university calendars (UW–Madison) and other district cycles do not always match. "People may work here but live in another district, so their children are in school in other districts," a presenter said when explaining the preference to align calendars where feasible.

Staff said the calendar committee will finalize draft calendars and communicate final dates to families and staff before winter break. The district also confirmed it will respect the state’s start-date constraints and the statutory instructional-minute requirements while seeking to preserve staff professional learning time.

Next steps: staff will finalize and publish the 2027–28 calendar, continuing outreach and considering minor wording and alignment adjustments based on stakeholder feedback.