School Year To End June 24

The last day of school will be a half-day of instruction June 24, School Committee members agreed Feb. 14.

Ending the school year on June 24 will allow students to attend 183 days of instruction, as required by the Grafton School Committee, Superintendent of Schools Joseph Connors said.

That is three more days than the state mandates. 

To allow school to end for students on a Friday, committee members approved Connors' suggestion that the professional development day scheduled for March 18 be moved instead to June 27.  The teachers union has no objections to this date change, he said.

This would keep March 18 as a regular school day.

If any additional snow days are called, committee members may be asked to reduce the school calendar by that number of days.

More than three additional snow days would bring the instruction time to less than 18o days, which would be below the state requirement. 

In that case, Connors said, school days might be scheduled on Saturdays or during April vacation. He described that as the "very last option.''

He has cancelled school for snow conditions six times this year, more than he ever has before, he said. 

"It's been a very stormy winter,'' he said. 

But he said he remains optimistic that few if any additional snow days will be required.