Late Labor Day Likely Means an Early Start for Foxborough Students

Unlike most years, the Foxborough students may be starting school before Labor Day this September.

With the holiday falling on Sept. 7, the school committee and Superintendent Debra Spinelli are contemplating beginning the next school year on Sept. 1 with a end date of June 18 with no snow days and 24 with all five snow days.

If school starts the day after Labor Day on Sept. 8, the last day would be June 22 with no snow days and June 29 with five build-in snow days.

Spinelli, whose children attended school in Foxborough, said that students went back to school before Labor Day during the 1998-99 school year, with little controversy or fanfare.

“Evidently it wasn’t a big event in our lives. That’s what the school calendar said and we went back,” Spinelli said at Monday’s school committee meeting.

Committee Chairman Bruce Gardner said he prefered the earlier start to give students more time to prep for standardized test and AP Exams to be taken later in the year.

Addressing the concern of families that may have made plans under the assumption of school starting after Labor Day, Student Representative Melissa Lynch said the nature of the first days being maintenance days would allow absent students to catch up quicker on any work they may miss.

The Foxborough Education Associate is expected to discuss the preference of the teacher’s next week with a vote coming from the school committee at their next meeting on Jan. 26.