School start and end times change for 2026-27

What happened

The School Committee voted 4-0 to change school start and end times for the 2026-2027 school year. The reason given in the minutes is bus scheduling: the adjustment lets buses drop secondary pupils off at a time when teachers are contractually required to be present, while still leaving enough time to run the elementary school route afterwards. The new times themselves are in the presentation, which was not filed with the minutes.

Why it matters to families

Start and end times decide when children get up, how long they wait, and how families arrange work and childcare. This one changed to make a single set of buses cover two runs.

The evidence

The May 26, 2026 approved minutes record the motion to approve the 2026-2027 EWG school start and end time changes as presented and the 4-0 vote, together with the explanation that the adjustment allows buses to drop off students at the secondary school when teachers are contractually required to be present while still leaving enough time to transport elementary school students. The presentation with the actual times was not filed with the minutes.

The source