A School Committee decision on where to house the eighth grade class has been delayed a year after the divisive issue was first unveiled.

The vote had been set for the committee’s next meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, May 25. For reasons unknown, Superintendent Dr. Kim Shaver-Hood said the vote has been pushed until fall of the upcoming year.

When the vote comes, School Committee Chair Melvin Lazarus said he’s leaning towards voting “yes.”

“The reason for this is, it’s good for the kids academically,” said Lazarus. “Know that the students are in favor of this move.”

A “yes” vote would move the 200 strong eighth grade class to the middle school starting in September 2017.

That current plan comes after false starts, reversed decisions and the nixing of a plan to move some, not all, eighth graders to the high school.

Throughout the process, many expressed dismay with the idea, saying that placing 18-year-olds and 13-year-olds in the same building is not in the younger students’ best interest.

Superintendent Dr. Kim Shaver-Hood first proposed moving all the eighth graders to the high school in December 2015.

However, amidst a group of parents, students, and teachers both positively and negatively divided on the issue, the move was scaled back to a dual enrollment program and a special advanced arts program, under the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math (STEAM) umbrella program employed at the middle school.

That plan called for opening 80 high school slots to eighth graders who applied for special programs.

The “special programs” option was in reaction to sharp objections from parents and students to the move-the-whole-class plan.

In March, following opposition from parents and some committee members, the plan changed yet again.

At a meeting that month, former School Committee Secretary Rhonda Veugen said Shaver-Hood decided to “keep the status quo” and not move any eighth graders to the high school, either en masse, or in selected programs.

At the time, Shaver-Hood said she had “listened and examined the information,” and made her decision based on information she said she did not have at the time.

“Making a decision for next year would be premature,” Shaver-Hood said.

Despite numerous concerns voiced by parents, Lazarus said he sees no compelling reason not to move the students.

He stated numerous reasons why this move would be beneficial to the students.

These include opening “the number of academic and social areas for the eighth graders such as elective courses, art, music, junior ROTC” and other elective courses at the high school that aren’t available at the middle school, as well as allowing the eighth graders to participate in any level of school sports.

Academically, Lazarus said moving the eighth grade would give students a year to make the transition, and provide students a chance to find their footing.

“If the students come into the high school as eighth graders, that eighth grade is not applicable to their academic transcript,” said Lazarus.

“So if they have a bad transition semester, it doesn’t affect them. When they hit the ninth grade, they’re on the ground running.”