Liberty Hill ISD will transition to a next fall, with some months having four-day school weeks, and other months having five-day school weeks.
"Staff was saying this is really what we need in order to perform next year ... [and] we just can't go four-day student, five-day staff all the time, right? We've gotta find somewhere in the middle. So this is where we've landed," AGÕæÈË°Ù¼ÒÀÖ Motal, Liberty Hill ISD's chief of schools, told trustees at Tuesday night's board meeting.
Students will begin the school year in August with a typical, five-day school week before transitioning into a four-day school week in mid-September. Come December, students will return to a five-day schedule to complete the semester. The entire second semester will run on a four-day schedule, with the exception of April.
During four-day school weeks, students will attend class Monday through Thursday, and Fridays will become professional development days for teachers and staff.
Officials said the move will give teachers more time to plan and prepare for larger workloads as a result of impending budget cuts.
The district anticipates cutting 50 positions in the coming months, and as a result, teachers are expected to see increased class sizes, as well as reduced classroom support.
"The amount that has been put on teachers has been ... astronomical, and there’s not one extra second of planning time for them," Board Trustee Kathy Major said. "The number one impact on student success is a master teacher with a well-planned curriculum and lesson."
The new calendar will also help the district cut costs by reducing overtime pay for hourly employees and reducing the amount of money spent on substitutes, officials said.
Trustee Brandon Canady pointed out that those costs tend to be highest on Fridays.
"Targeting Fridays only, we’ve spent $118,000 year to date just on substitutes alone," he said.
Superintendent Steven Snell said the district must pass a balanced budget for next school year.
"We have a $7.5 million budget [deficit] this year, which we are navigating through and continue to cut, and then we will have a balanced budget next year," he said. "We don't have a choice because we don't have the fund balance to draw from like other districts might."
The district's fund balance, or savings, is expected to dip to $7.5 million after absorbing this year's projected budget shortfall of the same amount � leaving officials less than one month's worth of operating expenses in case of an emergency.
However, Snell said, next year's budget will ultimately depend on the decisions state lawmakers make during this year's legislative session regarding public school funding.
"Liberty Hill is a great district. Liberty Hill is not broken, but these budget cuts are going to be very, very painful," he said. "We need our state to step up ... they're not broke; they have lots of money. They just need the political will to fund public schools."
