Bridal Rogers, speaking for the Executive Activities Task Force, opened a briefing on changes to how the town will credit student volunteer hours beginning in 2026. "Moving forward in 2026...we are no longer allowed to give out the excessive amount of hours," a committee speaker said, reporting a town directive the group said was not open to committee vote.

The change—described by members as a town-level policy update—means the committee must record the exact amount of time a student spends at each event and at each meeting rather than rounding up or granting large flat awards. Committee members said the change will sharply reduce previously common large credits; one member summarized the effect as a drop from previously reported totals of “100 hours” to only the actual hours worked.

Why it matters: Local student volunteers often rely on banked hours for school or scholarship requirements. Committee members raised concerns the policy could reduce incentives for students to volunteer and complicate planning for large events.

Committee reaction: Members debated adapting by increasing the number of volunteer meetings, carving event time into multiple documented shifts, or offering more frequent small assignments so students can accumulate hours legitimately. "There are ways to get the hours up for these kids," a member said, urging creativity; others warned that some schools remain the final arbiters of what they accept and that multiple schools have different verification requirements.

Next steps and constraints: The committee identified no local appeal route for the change and said the directive came from town staff and school partners. Members asked staff to seek clarification from town administrators and flagged the issue for the next meeting in January so they could report back to volunteers and schools.