Nettleton PPC adds third calendar option and schedules Feb. 16 makeup day

The PPC of the Nettleton School District reviewed two proposed 2026–27 academic calendars, agreed to schedule Feb. 16 as a superintendent-directed makeup day and voted to add a third calendar option for district staff to select this week.

The committee’s chair (S1) opened the meeting by saying the district had missed seven school days this year and, with two built-in days plus three additional snow days at the end of the year (May 26–28), the district still needed to account for two more missed days. “We’ve missed seven days on our current calendar,” the chair said, and added that the superintendent had scheduled Feb. 16 as a makeup day under existing authority.

Why it matters: under the district’s minutes-based calendar the district must meet a 370-minute instructional day and at least 1,068 hours per school year; the district must also build 30 hours of makeup time into the calendar. Committee members pressed staff to balance preserving instructional time before testing with limiting inconvenient makeup dates after parent–teacher conferences.

The committee reviewed the two proposed calendars month by month. Option 1 (modeled on Jonesboro’s calendar) includes three built-in makeup days and two makeup days at the end of the year; Option 2 places five makeup days at the end of the year and results in one fewer student-attendance day overall. To reach three full built-in days in Option 1, staff reduced a December 18 early release from 90 minutes to 60 minutes, gaining 30 minutes of instructional time.

S2, a committee member representing a building, said the junior high would be willing to lengthen its day slightly if needed. “The junior high is always happy to extend our day by a little bit,” the member said, noting building-level flexibility to gain instructional minutes.

Members also discussed whether the state could excuse some missed days because of a declared emergency. A committee member asked about state forgiveness for closures; the chair said waivers might be available if the district reached a higher threshold of missed days (about 10), but cautioned the state’s response was not certain.

On the calendar format, members asked that Option 3 be added: that variant moves a Sept. 25 PD day into Jan. 4 as a PD day, with students returning Jan. 5. Chair (S1) said she would add Option 3, send the three options to staff for a vote with a deadline through Friday, and — if the timing allows — present an adopted calendar to the school board next Tuesday. “I’m gonna throw it in there, option 3,” she said when the committee signaled informal support.

Next steps: staff will distribute three calendar options to district employees for selection through Friday. The PPC aims to forward a recommended calendar to the school board at next week’s meeting so counselors and school schedulers can finalize timetables.

Quotes are attributed to speakers by role as recorded in the PPC meeting. Specific items discussed include the Feb. 16 makeup day the superintendent scheduled, the change to a Dec. 18 early-release length to secure built-in makeup time, and the addition of Option 3 for staff voting.