Milton School Committee reviews calendar survey and listening sessions as calendar vote delayed

The Milton School Committee on Dec. 4 continued community outreach on a proposed revision to the district calendar, sharing preliminary survey results and feedback from six school-based listening sessions and a meeting with the Milton Interfaith Collegiate Association (MICA). Chair (name not specified) said the committee will not vote on a final calendar tonight and aims to present concrete calendar scenarios at its next meeting.

The superintendent opened the presentation by noting the survey drew 947 responses and 423 open-ended comments, which the district will continue to analyze. "We had 947 people respond to this survey," the superintendent said, adding that about "55% of the respondents were identifying as parents or guardians" and that the survey included responses from staff and students.

The committee summarized what participants told them at listening sessions held across six schools. Committee members reported a range of views: some listening-session attendees favored removing certain days from the calendar rather than adding new days off, primarily because adding days could extend the school year and exacerbate summer heat in buildings without air conditioning. One committee member summarized the attendance and views at individual sessions and reported that, "the feedback I heard from them was, preference more to remove days rather than add days." The district noted schools remain committed to allowing excused absences for families who observe specific religious or cultural holidays.

Leaders also debriefed a meeting with MICA, which included clergy and representatives of multiple faith communities. Rabbi Fred Benjamin of Congregation Beth Shalom, who spoke during public comment, urged the district to be transparent about the current calendar and to foster inclusion: "you too are welcome at the table," he said during his remarks, urging accommodations that allow families with different religious and dietary needs to feel included.

Committee members discussed practical constraints tied to labor contracts. Superintendent Peter noted two contractually protected days — the Friday before Labor Day and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving — are included in Unit A contracts and would require bargaining to change. Unit D and AFSCME contracts list eight holidays; those holidays (for example Good Friday and Yom Kippur) could potentially be handled through a memoranda of understanding rather than reopening all contracts.

The committee agreed to use the two weeks before its next meeting to draft calendar scenarios that map proposed options onto actual calendars (for example 180 vs. 184 student days), and to provide clearer analyses of how any change would affect instruction, professional-development timing and collective-bargaining obligations. The chair emphasized the committee’s objective of balancing inclusion with operational realities and said the vote will be delayed until the next meeting so members can review scenario-based calendars and contract implications.