According to the agenda for the April 16 meeting, none of those issues will be discussed by the board in either of April’s meetings. At the 6:15 p.m. videoconference meeting, trustees will instead discuss remote learning, LISD finances and approving the first round of construction funding for Tarvin Elementary School, set to open in 2021.
But the hot-button issues should return in May, according to board President Trish Bode. In a statement, Bode said those contested topics will be revisited next month.
“We will pick back up where we left off on items we were discussing before the COVID-19 response, like zoning, hazardous routes, and bell schedules,” Bode said in the statement. “The Board will need to discuss and consider action for these topics starting in May so that as campuses spring back to life, the community and district staff can plan accordingly.”
In January, LISD switched its twice-monthly meeting format by typically using only one agenda for both meetings.
The first meeting, typically held on the third Thursday of the month, is used to discuss in detail, but not vote upon, agenda items. The second meeting, typically held on the fourth Thursday, is used to vote on agenda items with a minimum amount of discussion.
Here are some of the items LISD will discuss in May, according to Bode.
Elementary school rezoning
At the Feb. 27 regular meeting, LISD trustees approved an attendance zoning charter, which will be used to develop detailed elementary school enrollment zones that will be enacted in the 2021-22 school year.
Akin, Camacho, Larkspur, Mason, Parkside, Plain, Pleasant Hill, Rutledge and Whitestone elementary schools are predicted to be at 120% capacity or greater within five years.
Hazardous routes
At its Oct. 17 meeting, LISD trustees unanimously approved a new scoring matrix for hazardous routes recommended by the committee.
The more restrictive scoring system that measures transportation eligibility for students living within 2 miles of campuses will help ease Leander ISD’s bus driver shortage—and cause an estimated 1% of LISD students to lose bus service.
LISD students who live within 2 miles of their campus are not eligible for bus transportation unless they live along a designated hazardous route, which can include areas with highways, few or no sidewalks, and other pedestrian hazards.
Bell schedules
A bell schedule committee was formed in 2018 to recommend new school start times and bus schedules.
At the Jan. 16 meeting, the committee was expected to offer recommendations to reduce student tardiness and increase instruction time through more efficient busing and school start times. The changes were scheduled to begin in August.
However, the bell schedule committee instead asked for another meeting with LISD stakeholders—primarily administrators and parents—who would be directly affected by any change to school start times or bus times.
The bell schedule committee has in the past suggested the idea of staggering elementary, middle and high school start times by at least 40 minutes per tier.
