Kutztown Area School Board adopts draft C for 2026–27 calendar after debate on long breaks and instructional hours

The Kutztown Area School District board on March 16 adopted draft C as the district’s 2026–27 school calendar following a lengthy discussion about instructional hours, long holiday breaks and the effect on families and staff.

Superintendent (speaker 2) told the board that state rules now focus on instructional hours rather than strict day counts and gave level‑by‑level hour calculations for each draft. "Draft C has 1,063.75 hours for the high school, middle school 1,072 and elementary 938 instructional hours," the superintendent said, noting the calendar builds in flexibility for expected snow days and staff in‑service time.

Board members debated the tradeoffs: supporters of a longer holiday break said it benefits families, while others said extended breaks can create childcare and continuity challenges. "I always say that I don't think there's a perfect school calendar," the superintendent said during the discussion, describing constraints around graduation dates and end‑of‑year staff in‑service scheduling.

After motions and roll calls on the alternatives, the board voted to amend the motion to move forward with draft C and adopted that option. The chair announced the board will begin advertising draft C to the community and continue calendar communications.

The vote on draft C was called by roll: Daniel Wissmer — Yes; Laurel Ziegler — Yes; Matthew Vignette — No; Aaron Engle — Yes; Reba Hoffman — Yes; Cecilia Holt — Yes; Michael Salisbury — Yes; Jason Cook — Yes. The motion carried.

Next steps: the district will publish the adopted 2026–27 calendar and continue communication about how the calendar handles potential snow days, staff service days and graduation timing.