July, 27 2026

Cardinal family,

Verdigris Public Schools needs to make our community aware of an important issue. Due to a change in educational law, VPS has made a change to our school day that will affect start times for the 2026-2027 school year.

During the most recent legislative session, Oklahoma lawmakers passed a law increasing the required daily recess time for elementary students to 40 minutes per day. Currently, 20 of those 40 minutes are considered non-instructional time. This new law will have a direct impact on our school day, and will result in adding 10 minutes to the start of our day.

What this means is that the school day for Verdigris Public Schools will now be:

• 8:00-3:00 for the Junior High and High Schools

• 8:00-3:10 for all sites at the Elementary Campus

We understand that this adjustment may create challenges for some families, and we apologize for this short notice. Please know that this change is being made to comply with the new state requirements. We appreciate your understanding as we implement these changes.

Thank you for your continued support,

Verdigris Public Schools