There’s an earlier start to the school year in Ely, but by no means is that the biggest change as the 2026-27 term begins.
For the first time, students in the district will go to school four days per week the result of a budget-cutting move made by school board members last spring.
As classes begin Monday, it figures to be a year of transition and adjustment with an extra day off each week offset by slightly longer school days.
School begins at 7:55 a.m. each day and will run until 3:30 p.m. The school’s office hours will be from 7:15 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Students and staff will soon be accustomed to threeday weekends, and though some school events will take place on the weekends, buildings will be closed the rest of the time as the district moved to reduce staff hours and cut operating costs as a result of the move.
The transition to the fourday week was approved by school board members and is expected to save nearly $200,000 in operating costs, and is one of several steps taken to close budget deficits that have been prevalent for several years.
Inside the school buildings, enrollment has been in a downward mode for several year.
Ely’s K-12 population was as high as 598 students as recently as the fall of 2017, but a report earlier in the summer showed current of fewer than 500 students.
As of late last week, the incoming kindergarten class was projected to be 23 students, one of the smallest first-year groups in the better than 100-year history of the district.
As a result of the declines in student population and the resulting budget cuts, superintendent Anne Oelke is the only administrator in the district.
She continues to double as grades K-12 principal, but the assistant principal position was eliminated and Jeff Carey moved from that role to a teaching position.
That’s one of a handful of faculty changes that students and teachers will notice as the school year begins this week.
After the retirements of longtime instructors Tom McDonald and Jim Lah and other personnel moves, new teachers in the Memorial Building are Cale Prosen (science), Noel Cordero (English) and Peter Thein (social studies).
As the school year begins, students, faculty and anyone driving by the campus may also notice ongoing construction.
The latest project is a roughly $5.25 million initiative to improve school athletic facilities, which was the result of a state funding allocation.
Various improvements to the district-owned ice arena are underway while work in the Memorial gymnasium has wrapped up and the facility will be ready for Monday night’s season-opening volleyball game.
The most visible improvements are taking place at the baseball and softball fields, while the football stadium is getting accessibility upgrades as well as components to aid with track and field practices.
