Monomoy School District Considering Earlier School Year Start

CHATHAM – Officials with the Monomoy Regional School District are thinking about starting the school year before Labor Day.

The district has traditionally started school the day after Labor Day.

However, this year Labor Day falls on September 7^th, which is as late in the year as possible, which means the 2020 school year would begin on Tuesday, September 8^th.

Under that schedule, school would end on June 30^th, 2021 with five snow days built into the schedule.

Superintendent of Schools Scott Carpenter said that if there are more than five snow days, students would have to attend classes during April vacation or potentially on Saturdays.

“An August 31^st start is really just two days earlier than the school district has ever started,” Carpenter said.

“I think some people when they hear that the school district is considering a pre-Labor Day start have visions of the middle of August, and that’s not the case.”    

Carpenter said the district’s teachers’ union requires that the school year begin after Labor Day and end by June 30^th.

If the school year was to start on Monday, August 31^st it would end on June 24^th or up to five days earlier depending on the number of snow days.

Most teachers prefer that next year start earlier and the teachers union has since voted to support the earlier start date.

“What was clear to me from talking to teachers is that our staff were saying hey it would be better to go and start on August 31^st,” Carpenter said.  

The Monomoy teachers’ contract expires this year and allowing for an earlier start could play into negotiations of the contract as Labor Day will again fall late in 2021.  

The school committee, which will meet Tuesday, will likely vote on the schedule change at the meeting.

Carpenter recently sent an email to families and guardians with a link to an online poll seeking feedback on the earlier start date and the results of the pole will play a factor in Tuesday’s meeting.

Monomoy had no snow days last year, however that was an anomaly according to Carpenter.

He said that it’s not just snow days that Monomoy has to worry about as the schools are just as likely to close due to a power outage following a late season hurricane or nor’easter.

Carpenter added that if school begins prior to Labor Day, students will have a four-day holiday weekend from Friday, September 4^th to Monday, September 7^th.