The USD 308 Board of Education Monday approved a change that will allow most students to be dismissed a day earlier than the original calendar.

The final day of classes for students in kindergarten through 11th grade will be May 21. The final day remains the same for HHS seniors for whom May 16 is the final day.

May 22 will be used by staff for training for a new student database and gradebook. The system will replace PowerSchool, a system the district has used for more than a decade.

The updated calendar also includes a non-school day for students in seventh and eighth grades only on April 24. Hutchinson Middle School is hosting the Pioneer League Vocal Music Festival. The festival involves many HMS students and will take much of the classroom space in both buildings that day.

The board also heard an update on the possibility of a virtual school option for the 2013-14 school year. The Board has been examining the possibility of operating a virtual school as a way to serve students who live in the Hutchinson area and want a virtual school experience but now have to use a virtual school outside the district.

The board looked at operating its own virtual school or contracting with a service center to operate the school.