Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Calendar topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Medford School Committee opens community process on 2026-27 calendar after Good Friday staffing issues
Summary
Superintendent Suzanne Galucci asked for union and community input to revise the 2026-27 school calendar after staff absences on Good Friday highlighted operational constraints; members discussed options including swapping days, semester electives, earlier start dates and forming a public working group.
Medford — The Medford School Committee began a public review of the 2026-27 school calendar at its April 13 meeting, prompted by widespread staff absences on Good Friday and a late Labor Day that compresses calendar flexibility.
Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Galucci said the district must balance DESE's requirement to build in five snow days, observance days already listed and contractual constraints tied to the teachers union. "I'm here in a collaborative problem-solving kind of stance," she told the committee, and said she will seek community and union input before returning with a proposed calendar.
Galucci highlighted constraints produced by a late Labor Day and DESE's rules requiring schools to end by June 30. She outlined options under discussion, including swapping an early-release day on Dec. 23 with Good Friday, creating semester-based electives so students who opt out of CTE exploratory have academic options in the second half of the year, and possibly scheduling summer or earlier start dates if contract discussions permit.
Member Graham emphasized the calendar's role in community belonging and urged public, collaborative conversations; Member Parks and others pressed for clarity about timelines and methods for collecting feedback (surveys, forums). Galucci said the district hopes to report back with a proposal by the end of May.
Anthony Giannino, president of the Medford Teachers Association, urged inclusion of Good Friday in any solution to reduce staff anxiety: "The number of people who took off Good Friday did so with, you know, no guidance, no sort of directive to do so," he said, framing the absences as an expression of personal faith and a staffing concern that merits attention from district leadership.
No formal calendar changes were adopted at the meeting; the superintendent will convene union conversations and collect public feedback prior to returning with a recommended calendar.
