Board divides over calendar options as staff warn of child‑care and nutrition impacts

The Ralston Public Schools Board spent a sustained portion of its Nov. 10 meeting debating two proposed multi‑year calendars and how they would affect instruction, staff professional development and student supports.

Teaching and learning staff presented survey results (47 parents, 110 staff) and two draft options. Version 1 balances semester instructional days (roughly 88 and 89 days), which several board members said benefits high‑school semester courses. Version 2 shifts more days into the second semester and would create two solid weeks of student vacation around Christmas in one draft. "There's definite inequality in semesters in version 2… the group most impacted is our high school staff," one board member said.

Board members raised practical concerns: snow‑day distribution (which can lengthen breaks), child‑care and food security for students who rely on school meals during extended breaks, and the scheduling of multiple professional‑development days that currently stack into several four‑day weekends. Teaching staff asked the board to consider whether PD timing could be redistributed to reduce the number of long weekends.

Administrators proposed a path forward: send a focused survey to the full board and return revised drafts at the next meeting; several board members suggested adopting version 1 for 2026–27 and version 2 for 2027–28 or pursuing a rolling two‑year calendar approach later to give families advance notice.

Why it matters: Calendar structure affects instructional equity, meal access, working families’ childcare needs and staff workload. Board members asked administrators to gather attendance and PD‑day absence data to inform a final decision.

Next steps: administration will circulate board survey results and prepared drafts and can delay approval beyond the November meeting if further review is needed.