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D C Everest board votes to seek earlier 2026–27 start date to curb private-school transportation costs
Summary
The D C Everest Area School District board unanimously approved a resolution asking the Department of Public Instruction for permission to begin the 2026–27 school year as early as Aug. 24, 2026, citing "excessive" private-school transportation costs as the extraordinary reason for the waiver request.
The D C Everest Area School District board on Dec. 10 approved a resolution requesting Department of Public Instruction (DPI) approval to begin the 2026–27 school year prior to Sept. 1. The measure, passed by roll-call vote, asks DPI to allow the district to start as early as Aug. 24, 2026, to reduce the district’s additional transportation costs for pupils who attend private schools that start earlier.
Superintendent Dr. Naim told the board that the resolution is being framed under Wisconsin Statutes governing commencement of the school term and the DPI waiver process, and that one of the allowable "extraordinary reasons" for an earlier start is to avoid "excessive costs" associated with transporting private-school pupils. He said the district has documented communications and cost analyses as part of the DPI submission process and that DPI does not set a universal numeric threshold but treats the waiver as a local-control decision.
"If our start date is required to be over here and they start here, there's x number of days that we cover the costs...we reduce those additional days of parochial transportation," Dr. Naim said, explaining the fiscal rationale. Board members noted that in a declining-enrollment environment "every penny counts," and the board discussed the tradeoffs between calendar flexibility and instructional impact.
Board members voted unanimously in favor of the resolution. The board-recorded motion refers to Wisconsin Statutes governing school term commencement and to DPI’s waiver process; the board president read a motion citing Wisconsin Statute 118.045 and procedural language about documenting excessive transportation costs as the justification for the earlier start request.
What happens next: the district will submit its application and supporting documentation to DPI; superintendent's staff said the district can withdraw the request if it ultimately decides to retain a traditional start date.
Ending: The board approved the resolution and will include the item in ongoing calendar planning; the board also scheduled additional discussion items for January.
