Dublin ISD school board approved a modified calendar (including 4-day weeks for the Spring semester) for next year during the regular board meeting Monday, April 27.
After multiple surveys and conversations with staff and the public, the board entered into a lengthy discussion about which version of two calendars was appropriate for next year.
One calendar was close to what the district already has and one offered a hybrid that would allow the district to see how a regular schedule of 4-day weeks would affect staff, students and parents.
The adopted calendar has a regular first semester with school starting Aug. 12, a day off for Labor Day, a day off Oct. 30, a week off in November for Thanksgiving and three weeks off at Christmas.
Coming back after Christmas break, students and teachers will have every Friday off as well as a week at Spring Break (March 13-19). School will end later with the last day of school being May 27, with graduation on May 28. The change also elongates the time students are in class by 15 minutes with school beginning at 7:45 a.m. and ending at 3:45 p.m.
During the discussion, Superintendent Melissa Summers said she and Director of Curriculum and Instruction Trish Thornton had gone to every campus to visit with staff about a potential 4-day calendar. They reportedly had received great feedback.
After visiting with campuses, another brief survey was sent out to them again and out of 140 responses, 65% were in favor of a 4-day week. The district had previously sent out a survey to staff, parents and high school aged kids.
“My fear was that maybe when people voted initially, that it would extend the school day or that it would change certain things with the calendar, so we wanted to talk that out and give them all the facts possible to make a decision,” Summers said.
During the discussion, Boardmember Pat Leatherwood said he had never had as many people stop by or call about concerns as he had about going to 4-day weeks.
Concerns expressed to Leatherwood included having to find a district that isn’t 4-day because they did not have childcare on Fridays.
“They would say, why are we changing from the one that we had?” Leatherwood said, “and no one has told me that yet.”
He also expressed that other districts had gone to a 4-day week and were now going back to a regular school week due to the impact on students and teachers.
“We are hoping that it will help recruit and retain employees,” Summers responded.
“Nothing will bring teachers in like money,” Leatherwood expressed. He said with Dublin going to 4-day, other surrounding districts around may also consider it, so DISD would be in the same place when it comes to hiring teachers.
“I haven’t had anyone tell me, ‘hey, I really like where this is going.’ Not a one,” he said.
School board member Blanca Martineau expressed that she had also had community members come to her and so had School Board member Anjelica Salyer, for which they were grateful.
Board President Bob Cervetto asked if they had received pushback when they went to a modified calendar two years ago, to which the answer was yes, according to School Board member Ryan Mitchell.
“People just wanted us to go 4-day or 5-day, they didn’t understand,” Mitchell said. “With anything you do, you’re going to have pushback. You’re only going to really hear the negative most of the time.”
Board members expressed that students were already tired and a longer school day would add to that exhaustion.
“That’s one concern we did hear, and one reason we didn’t propose going to a 4-day week all year long,” Summers said. “With only the spring semester, it extended by only 15 minutes.”
Mitchell said he had conversations with parents from all three campuses. It seemed to him that high school students’ parents favored it so those involved in many activities got a chance to rest.
“The intermediate and elementary school stated they just don’t see how it would benefit the kids,” he said. “Putting them in a classroom longer in a day, just doesn’t seem beneficial. Every family is going to be different.”
School board member Raymond Salinas questioned whether there had been any studies done on absenteeism after coming back from a threeday weekend.
Summers expressed they had not noticed it with their current schedule after having a Monday off.
Salyer said one concern she has especially with older kids, is if they will be put to work.
“They’re going to think, you have a day off, you aren’t going to sit around and do nothing. Go to work,” she said. “Are they going to get the rest they need? If they are struggling in a class, are they going to get that help?”
Martineau expressed concern over how the new schedule would affect working, single moms with the extra expense of having to find childcare for a single day or rely on family members.
When discussion arose about why they were shortening the Spring semester vs. the fall semester it was explained that the Spring semester is much busier for sports, ag, UIL etc.
Fridays off could potentially aid the district by not having to find substitute teachers for classes when coaches were out due to games, track, FFA, UIL etc.
“Fridays make more sense to be off, especially with your junior high kids. They get to practice Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then play on Thursdays,” Cervetto said. “When we went modified, we were excited about it, that’s what I recall.”
Administrators expressed that no instructors have said they will leave if the district went to a 4-day week.
“New teachers are excited about this,” Secondary Principal Dr. Norma Villicana-Arreguin said. “It would help us tremendously.”
After more than an hour of discussion, Salyer, Mitchell, Cervetto and Salinas voted for the calendar with 4-day Spring semester and Leatherwood and Martineau voted for the other calendar which is closer to what the district has now.
The board also unanimously discussed possibly purchasing and retrofitting buses with 3-point seat belts fits within the District’s budget.
Senate Bill 546 requires the district do research on the cost associated with 3-point seat belts and whether they could afford it or not. To get all new buses with 3-point seat belts would be an expense of $1,518,383 for the district. To retrofit buses would be $386,856.70.
“All of that is a lot of money that is not budgeted,” Summers said.
The board did not move forward on retrofitting or the new school buses.