Here is the proposed district calendar for Hartselle City Schools. The public is encouraged to submit comments on the calendar at http://www.hartselletigers.org./.

Hartselle City Schools may have fewer early release days next school year.

The Hartselle Board of Education held the first reading for the 2015-2016 school year. The schedule in early release days was the biggest change to the calendar.

School Superintendent Dr. Vic Wilson said the Hartselle City Schools calendar committee has developed a school calendar with only four early release Wednesdays, one for each quarter or nine-week grading period. The early dismissals will occur at noon and school buses will run at that time.

Currently, schools release every other Thursday at 1:30 p.m., but buses will not run until 3 p.m. That leaves any additional students to participate in enrichment classes or other activities at school.

Wilson said one of the main reasons for the change was to put less of a hardship on the parents and teachers.

“Parents liked it and hated it at the same time,” Wilson said. “It’s putting a hardship on the parents to pick their children up every other week for early dismissal.

“Teachers are not able to focus only completely on professional development days when kids are still there. So we want to let our teachers take advantage of the professional development time without the kids there.”

The early release days would be Sept. 16 and Oct. 28 in 2015 and Feb. 10 and April 6 in 2016.

The proposed calendar features 180 classroom days for students with a starting day of Aug. 12, 2015, and ending on May 25, 2016. Graduation for the Class of 2016 will be May 23.

Wilson said the calendar committee also was able to maintain the fall break on the Monday and Tuesday around Columbus Day, a Wednesday-through-Friday break for Thanksgiving and a full two weeks for Christmas vacation from Dec. 21-Jan. 1, from which students return on Jan. 5.

Spring break will be March 21-25, 2016, with inclement weather days on Jan. 18 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), Feb. 15 (President’s Day) and April 22 in 2016.

He said the calendar is mirrored after calendars passed by Morgan County and Decatur City schools.

“We want to be cognizant of what the other school systems around us are doing,” Wilson said. “It is important when we can work together with our neighboring systems.”

Wilson said parents and community members are welcome to submit feedback on the proposed calendar over the next month. The calendar will likely be considered for approval at the Dec. 15 meeting date.

Comments can be submitted by logging on to www.hartselletigers.org.