Andover's Saturday School Days Will Cost Town $48,232

ANDOVER, MA -- Andover's plan to have public school students attend classes on Saturday, April 28 and Saturday, May 12 will cost the district $48,232 in overtime, heat, electricity, food services, IT support, substitute teachers, secretaries and transportation., according to a cost analysis by Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Administration Paul Szymanski. An alternative plan to extend each remaining school day by 30 minutes that was rejected last week by the Andover School Committee would have save the district $17,710 and cost $30,522.

The cost projections were released under a public records request filed by the Andover Townsman, which first reported this story. The extra sessions were approved by the Andover School Committee as a way to make up days that were lost to last fall's extended power outage and this winter's snow storms.

Even with the extra sessions, the district is cutting it close: the last day of school is scheduled for Friday, June 29. Schools are prohibited from extending the school year beyond July 1.

The decision to add Saturday sessions was made earlier this winter. But on March 23, Massachusetts Acting Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeff Wulfson said schools could add extra time to already scheduled school days to make up lost time, and Berman presented that proposal to the Andover School Committee.

The Committee held firm on its decision to hold Saturday sessions, even cutting off Szymanski when he was about to reveal the extra cost of opening schools on Saturdays during the public meeting. That prompted the newspaper to request the documents under the Massachusetts public records law.

The Saturday school schedules conflict with varsity sports schedules, and many students have signaled they have the support of their parents to skip the Saturday sessions.

For more on this story, see the Andover Townsman. Subscribe to Andover Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).