By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT–Graduation for the Staples Class of 2026 may be locked in for Monday, June 15, 2026–barring rain–but the last day of school for everyone else remains up in the air.

So too does the fate of the scheduled spring break from April 13 through 17.

In a message sent to parents and the community this week, Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice said the last day for students is now Tuesday, June 23.

That means the district has used four snow days. 

Under the Board of Education’s adopted calendar, the final possible day of school is Wednesday, June 24.

Scarice told the school board on Thursday that any unanticipated school closures beyond five days would shorten the weeklong spring break starting with Monday, April 13.

The Westport school calendar, however, has 182 school days for students, two more than is required by state law.

Scarice told the board it could vote to shrink the student calendar by two days, something it has done only once during his tenure with the district.

If it did go to 180 days, and with no more snow days, school would end on Thursday, June 18, the day before Friday, June 19, the federal Juneteenth Day holiday.

Scarice recommended the board take no action yet and promised to circle back once all the snow stops.

Security system update

Over the past few months, the board has been meeting in executive session before regular business meetings to discuss security issues.

On Thursday, the panel, with four members present, voted unanimously and without public discussion to authorize a $695,000 contract for a personal duress security system to be awarded to TPC Systems of Milford.

The approval is subject to approval from the Board of Finance and funds for the project would come from the district’s $1.3 million carryover account, which exists outside of the general budget.

Board Chair Lee Goldstein said the board anticipates a state security grant of $119,963.65 to offset the cost. If the grant is received, the board requests it go back to the carryover account.

According to the Request for Proposal issued for the contract, the firm would furnish and install a mobile personal duress instant alert pendant security system within the three-story, 475,000 square foot Staples High School campus. 

The plan is to supply staff and administration with small, handheld fob devices, 300 in all. The system would be linked to the Westport Police Department.

Installation needs to take place by the end of September when the state grant is due to expire, according to the RFP.

Two Staples High School students, Zander Bauer and Elijah Falkenstein, were instrumental in motivating the state and the Westport School system to adopt this safety tactic. They appeared before the school board last October.

More seating

Staples is also in line for more places for students to sit.

The school board unanimously accepted a $3,275 gift from the Staples High School PTA Executive board to purchase five tables and 40 stackable Ergonomic chairs to give students more places to sit in common areas, such as outside the cafeteria and auditorium.

Staples PTA Co-President Aileen Brill said the group decided to award a PTA Wrecker Mini Grant after reading an October 2025 editorial in Inklings, the Staples student newspaper, lamenting the lack of common area seating.

Goldstein asked if students would be allowed to eat in the new spaces. Brill said while the seating is technically intended for “working,” food is allowed to travel outside the school’s cafeteria.

Linda Conner Lambeck

^{_{Linda Conner Lambeck covers education for Westport Journal. She was a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications. She has covered education throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties. She is a proud member of the Education Writers Association.}}