GRANADA – In Thursday’s Granada-Huntley-East Chain School Board meeting, the 2026-27 and 2027-28 calendars were approved, shortening the number of days and increasing each school day by five minutes.

The start of school will be on Aug. 25. Superintendent Doug Storbeck said this way, they will be able to get out of school earlier, on May 20.

“Just trying to provide the largest window of time for construction in the summer of 2027,” he said. “This second calendar would start the day after Labor Day in September. This took into account a previous conversation that we had about reducing the amount of student contact days. We would be increasing the school day by five minutes. Student contact days went from 173 to 170, and that’s reflected in both calendars.”

In addition to starting later for the 2027-28 school year, the year will also finish five days later, on May 25.

Board Member Laura Koch raised concerns about the 2026-27 calendar, regarding parent-teacher conferences for the elementary school and picture day for all students being on Aug. 24, the day before school starts. She asked about this cutting slightly into the end of student’s summer vacation even more than the schedule already does.

Storbeck said this strategy had been successful during his time in St. James, and otherwise, they would just start school on the 24th anyway.

Board Member Ken Madsen asked if there were any major differences besides the start date between the two calendars. Storbeck said there were none, and the longer days are included. Koch asked about the increase in school-day time and how long that change will be included. Storbeck said it can be included for as long as they want it to.

The calendars were approved unanimously by the school board.

Moving to other business, Storbeck said they are working on strategic planning, meeting with different organizations to see who to work with. He pointed out technology as something that could change.

“A scaffold of technology use from elementary to middle school to high school, and really focusing on elementary, especially K-2, maybe even K-4, not using technology at all, and really focusing on handwriting skills, writing and doing your math skills on paper and everything like that, then slowly incorporating technology. We do know technology is important and those skills are important, but we do feel like they’re keeping us from progressing as we should.”

The handbook was also touched on by Storbeck. He said they want to get those ready by June, so they have a comfortable amount of time with the finished product and not later, like August. A potential significant change in this is making 5th grade a hybrid elementary and middle school grade.

Storbeck said it would still be elementary in having the same teacher all day and participating in elementary music. It would be more like middle school because they would practice transitional segments like the middle schoolers do when they go between classes and join the middle schoolers for lunch.