Hull School Committee Approves Pre-Labor Day Start for 2025-2026
Debate over calendar's impact on local businesses prompts calls for increased community input in future planning
HULL - January 13 - The Hull School Committee has approved the 2025-2026 school calendar, which includes a pre-Labor Day start, despite concerns about its impact on local businesses and calls for increased community input in future planning.
The calendar, approved unanimously at the committee's Jan. 13 meeting, sets the first day of school before Labor Day and ends the academic year on June 12, 2026.
Committee member Liliana Hedrick expressed reservations about the early start date, citing potential effects on local businesses that rely on summer tourism.
"We have a lot of small businesses that run through their summer and it's like their high point of business. So starting before Labor Day kind of affects their businesses," Hedrick said.
Superintendent Mike Jette defended the decision, citing the need to accommodate high school athletics schedules.
"With the high participation that we have at the high school for athletics and with athletics, I think football is starting on the 15th and I believe soccer starts up on the 18th," Jette said. "So for those families, they're back to school, you know, that you've got double sessions and you've got students who are back involved in athletics."
The calendar also includes an extended winter break, with classes ending Dec. 23 and resuming Jan. 5.
Committee members acknowledged the need for more community input in future calendar planning. Member Kyle Conley suggested creating a rationale for calendar decisions to share with the public.
"Maybe before we're looking at next year, at least, you know, we have some sort of criteria or some sort of rationale behind each of these, I think would be useful moving forward," Conley said.
Jette agreed to consider community feedback, stating, "I definitely will keep my ear, if there's anybody watching tonight who wants to contact me, I welcome that feedback."
In other business, the committee discussed the ongoing search for a new Athletic Director following the current Director's decision to pursue other opportunities.
Jette reported that the position, posted last Thursday, has already attracted over 20 applicants. The application period closes Jan. 23.
"We've actually had a very good response to it, I think there are over 20 applicants at this point in time, so they've got a lot of work to do to figure out who the best candidate is going forward," Jette said.
Principal Shaw will lead the selection process, which includes a screening committee composed of two parents, two teachers, and two students.
The district aims to have a new Athletic Director in place before the end of the winter sports season, which concludes just before the February break.
"We would love to get somebody on boarded to overlap a little bit with Gary, or take a look at can we have Gary providing some time back," Jetty said, referring to Interim Director Gary Graziano.
The committee also heard updates on various subcommittees, including the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) subcommittee's collaboration with Hull No Place for Hate and the Braver Angels program.
Hedrick reported on efforts to bring communication workshops to the high school, focusing on discussing challenging topics and finding common ground.
"They're voters, right? A lot of them. So it'll help them to kind of develop those strategies on dealing with difficult topics regarding politics or any other issues, and finding similarities in your differences is really what they're trying to accomplish," Hedrick said.