Students urge board to restore promised ‘senior privilege’; administrators cite scheduling constraints

Seniors and parents told the Seymour Board of Education on Jan. 14 that promised "senior privilege" — including afternoon study halls and off‑campus use tied to earned privileges — has been curtailed because administrators are denying schedule changes that would shrink class enrollments.

Kathy White, who identified herself as a senior at Seymour High School, told the board she left work to attend the meeting and described being denied schedule adjustments that would have moved her study halls to the end of the day. "I was very disappointed to learn that I would not be able to take advantage of my senior privilege in the afternoon due to scheduling limitations," she said, asking the board to encourage administration to honor the commitments made at a prior board meeting.

A second public commenter, Alexandra Turboni (introduced herself as a resident of Firewood Drive), echoed concerns that seniors are being treated as "placeholders" and said students were explicitly told at the start of the year they could use up to three study halls. She said denying drops now undermines students who planned their schedules around that expectation.

Administrators explained how the district's scheduling process constrains late changes. The algorithm used to build schedules (PowerSchool) prioritizes students' primary and secondary course requests and, once staffing is set based on those requests, mass requests to drop end‑of‑day classes can leave courses with only a handful of students. The administration reported instances where courses that began with typical enrollment fell to very small rosters after many seniors sought drops, creating the risk that a class would not be viable to run.

Board members and administrators said they understand students' perspectives and credited the senior presenters for raising the issue. At the same time, several board members described the operational problem: staffing decisions are made in advance and teachers/sections were scheduled based on early sign‑ups. One administrator said the district cannot, in many cases, reopen class assignments without disadvantaging other students or leaving staff underutilized.

The board and administration indicated two immediate directions: (1) administrators will continue to evaluate individual student requests on a case‑by‑case basis, recognizing differing credit needs and program requirements (for example, students who are "credit rich" and those who need a replacement course were framed as distinct situations), and (2) the district will consider procedural changes for future years — including exploring senior electives, schedule blocking, and clearer guidance about late drops — to reduce the likelihood of mass end‑of‑day drop requests after staffing is finalized.

The board did not adopt a new policy at the meeting. Members asked staff to return with possible procedural options and to consider how to balance honoring earned senior privileges with maintaining viable class offerings.