RSU 21 School Board OKs post-Labor Day back-to-school start in Kennebunk after backlash

KENNEBUNK, Maine — Students in RSU 21 will have one more week of sun and fun before returning to class at the end of the summer.

The School Board approved a new 2024-25 instructional calendar Monday, April 1, that kicks off for kids after Labor Day.

The calendar is a revised version of the original one that Superintendent Terri Cooper presented to the School Board for its consideration on March 18. That version proposed students start the new school year before Labor Day weekend, by attending staggered classes on Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 28 and 29.

Local business owners, parents, teachers, and others pushed back against that proposed start date during the School Board’s March 18 meeting. As well, they did so in a poll conducted by the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber of Commerce.

Opponents of the pre-Labor Day start asserted the local economy, family vacations, and other late-summer factors would be negatively impacted if students left their jobs early and returned to class before the holiday weekend, which is typically a busy time for tourism.

Taking their concerns into consideration, Cooper reworked the district’s proposed calendar and presented the revised version during the School Board meeting on April 1.

School Board Chair Erin Nadeau acknowledged the “heavy lift” and “pivot” necessary for Cooper to come up with a new calendar that coincides with other districts throughout the area.

“I hope that this is something that works for families and students altogether,” Nadeau said.

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New back-to-school start date for students

Under the new calendar, students in grades 1 through 9 will have their first day of school on Tuesday, Sept. 3, and those in pre-K, kindergarten, and grades 10 through 12 will have theirs on Wednesday, Sept. 4.

Teachers and other staffers, however, will return to school before Labor Day. New staff members will report to work for orientation on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 22 and 23, and all teachers will attend professional development days on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 26 and 27. From there, teachers will have the rest of the week off.

Students and staff will have no school on Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 2.

Like the previous calendar, the new one calls for students to have 180 days of school and for teachers to have 184.

“That did not change,” Cooper said.

By state law, students in Maine are required to have at least 175 days of school. During the meeting on Monday, School Board members and residents shared their views for and against requiring students to attend 180 days, and the subject likely will be discussed further during calendar discussions for upcoming school years.

The new calendar sets Tuesday, June 17, 2025, as the last day of school – a half of one, to be exact. Cooper explained that this arrangement leaves room for just one snow day if the district hopes to be completed with the year before the Juneteenth holiday on June 19. If students need to continue school after June 19, then the district would need to collectively pay education technicians, or ed-techs, $40,000 for holiday pay, according to Cooper.

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Businesses, residents praise new school start date

During public comments, residents and representatives of the business community expressed appreciation to Cooper and the board for revising the old calendar and approving the new one.

Laura Dolce, the executive director of the local Chamber of Commerce, commended Cooper for “taking the time and really looking at what could be done and responding to what everyone was thinking.”

In a letter to the School Board last month, Dolce had advocated on behalf of the local business community for a post-Labor Day start, so that students could work during the last week of August and through the holiday weekend. Without RSU 21 students in the local workforce, several businesses would struggle to stay open during one of the busiest times of the summer for tourists, Dolce wrote.

“Education is really important,” Dolce said. “I think a lot of those same students who need to be in school sometimes need those jobs. I’m glad that this schedule allows for both.”

One resident, who introduced himself only as a local grandparent, commended Cooper and the School Board for listening to the public and coming up with a solution. He spoke of how valuable he considers those two days in late August that, under the new calendar, local students will now have free.

“Time is precious,” he said. “Those couple of days may not seem like a lot, but they will be a lot.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: RSU 21 School Board OKs post-Labor Day class start in Kennebunk