The board of trustees adopted the district’s 2025-26 academic calendar at its Feb. 18 meeting following nearly two hours of discussion. District officials said the four-day student weeks are intended to help retain and recruit teachers as LHISD prepares to make multi-million dollar budget cuts.
“We are in a desperate position to help teachers...” Place 1 board member Chris Neighbors said. “If we don’t do something, we’re going to be in for a world of hurt.”
The breakdown
Under the hybrid calendar, students will attend class for four days a week followed by work days for staff on Fridays from October to November as well as January through March and again in May. Both students and staff will attend school five days a week for some of August through September along with December and April.
The adopted calendar includes the following key dates:
- First day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 12
- Thanksgiving break Nov. 24-28
- Winter break Dec. 22-Jan. 2
- Spring break March 16-20
- Early release for last day of school Thursday, May 28
Click here to view the full 2025-26 academic calendar.
Some context
The hybrid calendar comes after the district has received feedback on several calendar proposals over the past few months. Out of 718 staff members surveyed, 68% preferred a calendar with Fridays off for students, according to the presentation.
On Fridays, teachers will spend the morning completing professional development followed by a work day in the afternoon, Chief of Schools Travis Motal said.
“The amount that has been put on teachers... has been astronomical,” Place 4 board member Kathy Major said. “The number one impact on student success is a master teacher with a well-planned curriculum.”
Some parents have shared concerns about needing child care for their students on Fridays, Motal said. Next school year, the district will provide free child care for staff on Fridays with paid options for parents alongside child care offerings that are available at the YMCA, he said.
The impact
Implementing a four-day school week could help the district better support teachers amid budgetary constraints, Motal said. In January, the district proposed making over $5 million in cuts, including eliminating 66 positions, to lower a projected $17.7 million budget shortfall next fiscal year.
“We always ask them to do more than what they are able to,” Motal said about teachers. ”We're asking them to do quite a bit more. How can we continue to support them?”
The district is now expecting to make around $3.7 million in budget reductions after adding more teaching positions to accommodate 800 new students next school year, Superintendent Steven Snell said. LHISD may consider additional cuts related to special education, he said.
Stay tuned
Snell told Community Impact the district may make some adjustments to the calendar at its next board meeting March 10.
Some board members said they wanted to end the school year before Memorial Day weekend, which could be done by adding additional student days or instructional minutes to the school year, Snell said.
