School board adopts two-year calendar after policy clarification on July 4 observance

Tim Smith, the districts chief academic officer, recommended adopting Option 2 for both the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years after two staff surveys (Oct. 28 and Nov. 17) produced more than 1,200 responses and showed that the majority preferred a fall break plus a full Thanksgiving week and an April spring break. "So for next school year, 26-27, 77% wanted option 2," Smith said, and he continued that the option preserves a full week around Thanksgiving and provides a fall break aligned with staff preferences.

Board members asked procedural questions about how quickly the calendar would be posted on the district website and raised a separate board-policy issue about the observance of July 4 when the holiday falls on a weekend. Board policy says the holiday is observed the following Monday; board members discussed whether the district should instead observe an adjacent Friday in some years and asked staff to circulate the policy language for review. "If July 4 falls on a weekend, this day off will be observed on the Monday following," one board member noted while reading the policy text.

The board restated the motion to adopt Option 2 for both school years with the update that the July 4 holiday will be observed on the Monday when it falls on a weekend; the motion was moved and seconded and then passed by electronic vote. After the vote, staff said the finalized calendar could be posted to the districts website within the week and that staff would work on more prominent placement for the calendar to help parents and community partners plan. The board also asked staff to include the relevant board policy in future calendar materials.