NASHUA – The Nashua Board of Education voted 5 to 3 Monday night in favor of establishing the last day of school as June 15, with June 18-22 as mandatory professional development for all staff.

The police department has offered to provide active shooter/safety training to staff during this time.

District administration distributed an online survey last week, asking parents, teachers, staff and students to vote on two options concerning the last day of school: the last day of June 15 with professional development or the last day of June 22 for both students and staff.

The majority voted for the latter.

The original projected last day of school for the district was June 13. The additional two days, minus the early release days and eight inclement weather days, would equal 990 hours of instructional time for the middle and high schools and 945 for the

elementary, which meets the state’s minimum requirements.

There was a great deal of discussion at the meeting, with some concerned that the lack of instruction time would negatively impact the students.

As former board president George Farrington pointed out, much of the last week of school is designated for field days and yearbook signing anyway, and would result in even more lost time.

“Based on the number of students who are unable to demonstrate grade-level proficiency on the standardized tests as well as those who require remediation in reading and math, who struggle with courses like Algebra 1, and who often must take remediation courses at post secondary schools, I have to question the wisdom of reducing instruction time,” Farrington said in an email to the board. “Further, I fail to see how the district is going to make gains in student achievement by accepting state minimum standards when it comes to instructional time.” He reiterated his comments at the board meeting during the public comment period.

Ultimately, however, the board voted in favor of the constituents, with Doris Hohensee, Howard Coffman and Elizabeth Van Twuyver voting no.

Student representative Patrick Gillis said that in light of two massive walkout protests, students obviously do not feel safe in school, and that it would be wise for staff to take the extra steps to make sure they have all the necessary safety training.

All four union bargaining units need to vote on the issue for it to pass.

Hannah LaClaire can be reached at 594-1243 or hlaclaire@nashuatelegraph.com.