By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
Glasgow students and their families who have liked starting school later in the year may continue to enjoy a late August start date if the recommendation of the district’s calendar committee is approved by board of education members.
After some questions, discussion and modifications, which mostly involved moving days off and professional development days, the nine present committee members unanimously approved the calendar with a start date of Aug. 25, an end date of May 21, 2027 and a fall break from Oct. 5-9.
Meeting in the new board room in the old South Green Elementary School, Director of Pupil Personnel James McReynolds presented three tentative 2026-27 academic calendars along with results from the survey the committee released last year. In the survey, approximately 84 percent of the 258 respondents advocated for a late start date, McReynolds said.
Board member Barret Lessenberry said he was pleased to see those responses, especially since he has been “beating the drums” of late starts for a “long, long, long time.” The district’s AP scores rose 16 points in the last school year, McReynolds added.
“That’s pretty impressive to me,” Lessenberry said. “A late start hasn’t made any great difference.”
McReynolds told Glasgow News 1 that this was the “variable calendar,” meaning it meets the required hours set by the Kentucky Department of Education but has only 164 school days as opposed to the 175 days set by the traditional calendar options. The Kentucky Department of Education requires a minimum of 1,062 hours or 170 instructional days, according to information provided by the department.
“You have to satisfy the hours in a variable calendar,” McReynolds said.
The calendar recommendation will be submitted to the Glasgow Independent Schools Board of Education on Feb. 9 for its approval, McReynolds said.
This 2026-27 school calendar is similar to the current one, wherein students began on Aug. 26 and end on May 22 — though the recent snow days may extend that end date.
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