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Board reviews two-year school calendar proposal, recommends moving monthly early-dismissal days to Wednesdays

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Summary

At a Jan. 8 board meeting, presenters offered a first reading of a two-year operational calendar that increases pre-service days, makes Columbus Day a full student day off for parent-teacher conferences, and recommends shifting monthly 2-hour early-dismissal days from Fridays to Wednesdays based on attendance and substitute-coverage data.

The St. Mary's County Public Schools Board of Education on Jan. 8 received a first reading of a proposed two-year operational calendar that would change how monthly professional learning days and several holidays are scheduled.

The calendar presenter told the board the proposal for 2026–27 and 2027–28 reflects committee work and a district survey with 3,018 responses and is intended to balance instructional time, staff professional responsibilities and student-family needs. A public hearing on the proposal is set for Jan. 21, with final board action expected Feb. 4.

Why it matters: the draft would add a pre-service day at the start of the school year, increase built-in inclement-weather makeup days in 2027–28 to 184, make Columbus Day a full student day off for parent-teacher conferences, and move the recurring two-hour early-dismissal professional days from Fridays to, where possible, the third Wednesday of each month. The presenter said those changes aim to reduce student absences on scheduled modification days and improve substitute coverage.

The presenter cited district attendance and substitute metrics to support the change: “On a 2 hour early Friday, our average daily attendance was 87%. And on a typical Friday, a full day Friday, our average daily attendance was 91%,” the presenter said, and added that the district’s normal average daily attendance last year was about 92%. The presenter also said substitute fill rates were lower on early-release Fridays (about a 37% fill rate) compared with typical Fridays (about 50%).

Board members asked follow-up questions about substitute compensation and operational impacts. District staff said long-term substitutes who are already assigned to a position receive full-day compensation and professional responsibilities; daily substitutes are paid on an hourly basis and the district will monitor attendance and fill-rate data after any change. One board member suggested the district consider whether additional substitute pay or other incentives would be needed to maintain coverage on modification days.

Next steps: the board will collect public comment at the Jan. 21 meeting and consider any revisions before a potential final vote on Feb. 4.