Editor’s Note: This meeting account is courtesy of district parent Tamara Mills Haleem.
Parents are ready to declare independence from June classes.
That was the resounding takeaway from a district survey on proposed school calendars for 2026–27 and 2027–28, where families backed options that would end the year before the grills fire on Memorial Day.
At Tuesday’s St. Johns County School Board workshop, officials revealed that more than 5,100 parents, teachers, and staff weighed in on two calendar choices for each year.
In both cases, “Calendar A” dominated the voting, winning 85% support for 2026–27 and 71% for 2027–28.
The decisive factor: Calendar A lets students start their summers in May rather than trespassing into June.
The current model stretches into the following month, a schedule many parents say eats into family plans and summer activities.
Feedback revealed clear community preferences: finishing before Memorial Day, preserving two full weeks for winter break, and keeping the full Thanksgiving week off.
Parents expressed little appetite for hurricane make-up days on holidays such as Veterans Day or Martin Luther King Day, after last year’s storm closures sparked frustration when a make-up was scheduled on Veterans Day.
Some board members pressed for exploring alternatives, such as shifting make-up days to the end of the year or tacking extra minutes onto school days.
Supporters argued that pushing make-ups into June would save money on substitutes and be less disruptive than cutting into Thanksgiving. But others countered that June attendance is historically low, and adding minutes would clash with athletics and after-school activities.
Superintendent Brennan Asplen stated that the board should stick with the two options that have already been voted on and move forward with a decision at the next school board meeting.
The board is expected to vote on the calendars at its next meeting. If Calendar A is approved, students will be packing up their backpacks before Memorial Day.
