And the controversial proposal is resurrecting questions of whether early-release Wednesdays are good for all other grades.

The School Committee is scheduled to vote again Wednesday on late-start arrival for middle and high school students. The vote was scheduled this past July but tabled after parents blasted the idea.

In a move that surprised many, the committee met for a workshop Wednesday, and a majority indicated they would support late-start arrival.

“I’m hearing from parents, I’m hearing from business people, concerned about it,” LaBonte said.

People are frustrated and disheartened that the issue is coming up a second time, the mayor said. For years Auburn schools have “stood alone” in dismissing elementary students at noon on Wednesdays for teacher professional development. Test scores show there is no measurable positive impact from that, LaBonte said.

“Auburn schools are not performing where they need to,” he said. “The notion of taking away two weeks is completely unacceptable.”

The subject is also being aired on the Facebook page of Auburn Citizens for Responsible Education, founded by School Committee member Tracy Levesque, who opposes late-arrival Wednesdays.

Auburn Superintendent Katy Grondin has said the two hours a week would provide time for teachers to be trained for a new curriculum called mass customized learning.

Parents interviewed Monday didn’t seem convinced.

Wendy Brown of Auburn, a parent of elementary students, said she has reservations about late-arrival Wednesdays. Comparing it to early-release Wednesdays, Brown said, “these things start for a specific purpose, and seem to stick.”

Brown said she’s concerned about missed class time for students. “If they’re going to do this, they should take away teacher workshop days and have teachers give an hour of their own,” Brown said.

Interviews with parents picking up students at the middle school and high school Monday showed little support for late arrival.

One Auburn Middle School grandmother said late arrival on Wednesdays is a good idea.

“How else are teachers going to get together to collaborate with each other to make this work?” Brenda Cote said. An important part of the mass customized learning training “is to talk to each other,” she said.

Teachers’ days are long, their vacations often filled with schoolwork, she said. “A lot of people forget that.”

Cote said she used to volunteer in classrooms. Starting school late on Wednesdays would be hard for some parents, she acknowledged, “but I understand the point of having that time to plan and collaborate.”

Middle school parent Lisa Case wasn’t so sure.

“I have mixed feelings,” Case said. Motioning to her son, she said, “He would love to be able to come in late to school and sleep in. I don’t know that missing two weeks of school is really the thing that any student needs.”

Catrina Bragg, a stay-at-home mother, said a weekly late start wouldn’t cause problems for her family, but she doesn’t favor the idea.

“I don’t think teachers need extra time. If they need more time, then they need to re-evaluate their time or less assignments or something.”

Waiting to pick up her freshman student outside of Edward Little High School on Monday, Jeanae Rubocki said she’s opposed to late arrival on Wednesdays.

“I also don’t think early-release Wednesdays is a great idea,” she said. Her family has one child in the sixth grade, another in high school. If he had to, her husband could go to work late Wednesdays to drop their student off, she said.

Students need more time in school, Rubocki said, adding she isn’t sure about “the new curriculum.”

High school parent Ken Cote said he’s against late-arrival Wednesdays. Cote said he doesn’t want students to lose time in class. “That’s not the way to go.”

Tomorrow: Schools Superintendent Katy Grondin releases a list of schools that have professional development for teachers during traditional school time.