The three proposals were presented to the board of trustees during the regular meeting Nov. 14 at the LISD Administrative Center.
LISD Chief of Staff Shawna Miller said the consensus of the calendar committee was to have the first semester end by winter break and end the school year prior to Memorial Day. The committee met with staff, principals, parent advisory groups and PTA delegates.
The details
Miller noted some of the early feedback was that so many half days made it hard on parents who would have to arrange time to leave work early or get help watching their students until they got off work. She said that was a flip in viewpoints from two years ago, but it would help the district as well in state funding as attendance has been lower on half days.
LISD officials also heard from staff they needed more time for professional learning and planning classes.
The district must have 75,600 instructional minutes and teachers' work days or professional learning days do not count toward that number, according to the presentation.
“Remember, our calendar is driven by instruction, so we landed on three different options,” Miller said.
The specifics
There were three plans with varied start and end dates for LISD next school year.
- Option 1: Start on Aug. 8, 2024, and end on May 22, 2025
- Option 2: Start on Aug. 13, 2024, and end on May 23, 2025
- Option 3: Start on Aug. 14, 2024, and end on May 29, 2025
Only parents and staff members with email addresses registered with the district can vote the three calendar options.. They will be asked to rank from one to three, with one being the favorite. Voting runs from Nov. 16-30. Staff will provide a recommendation to the board from the input during the Dec. 11 meeting.
