A legislative change approved by the 84th Texas Legislature replaces the previous minimum 180 days of instruction to a required minimum of 75,600 minutes. To meet this minimum while also avoiding major calendar changes, the proposed 2016-17 District calendar has added 20 minutes to the length of the school day at all levels. I question how this will effect our already troublesome 3,763 counts of truancy.
I also think it is misguided and thoughtless to put more pressure on our teachers by making the school days longer. Will there be more resources and/or compensation provided? Our teachers deserve someone who will stand up for them on issues like this. As your board member, I will fight for them just as hard as I will our children.