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PSD board hears first reading of 2026–27 calendar, committee proposes Aug. 19 student start
Summary
The Poudre School District calendar committee presented a recommended 2026–27 calendar that would start students Aug. 19 (staff Aug. 10), preserve a five-day fall break and meet Colorado Department of Education requirements including a 360-hour first semester funding threshold; early-childhood funding and snow/heat-release buffers were discussed.
Poudre School District R-1 board members heard the first reading of the recommended 2026–27 school year calendar on Nov. 18, when calendar committee co-chairs Cheryl Day and Brian Kiel presented Version 1 of the committee’s proposal.
Under the recommended calendar, staff would return Aug. 10, there would be a transition day on Aug. 18 for rising sixth- and ninth-graders, and students would begin Aug. 19 — roughly six days later than the district’s prior start date. The committee said Version 1 preserves a five‑day fall break and a two‑week winter break, ends the first semester Dec. 18 and sets the last day of school on May 28, while meeting state instructional-hour rules.
"We were able to gain about six days that way," co-chair Brian Kiel said, explaining the tradeoffs the committee considered when shifting the start date. The committee emphasized compliance with Colorado Department of Education rules on minimum student days and instructional hours and with the district employee agreement (identified in the presentation as ICICA). Presenters noted the calendar was built using current instructional-minute assumptions because state-level changes to minutes are not yet finalized.
Board members asked about impacts to early childhood programming and funding. The presenters said universal pre‑K reimbursement through the Larimer County Child Care Coalition varies with the number of hours offered; when programs shift from a 10‑hour to a higher‑hour weekly model the district could realize an estimated funding difference of roughly $1,200 per pupil. Presenters also said the CDE’s minimum-hour calculations include buffers for heat‑release and snow days and that second semester offers more scheduling flexibility.
The calendar committee plans to return to the board for further consideration in December; the adoption timeline calls for communications to publish the approved calendar on the district website and for HR to complete staff‑specific calendars in the spring.
Next steps: the board will review the calendar again in December, with a final adoption date to be set then.
