Board approves calendar adjustments, Winter Storm Resolution
Photo by Kate Knauff
Dr. Rodgers discusses the Winter Storm Resolution with the rest of the board. The resolution passed 5-1 without any amendments.
The school board approved 2020-21 calendar adjustments to the end of the third nine-weeks through the end of the year, approved the LISD Winter Storm Resolution and discussed the missed school day waiver regarding the winter storm at the March 1 board work session.
The school board approved the revisions to the 2020-21 academic calendar which included moving the end of the 3rd nine weeks from March 5 to March 12 in order to balance the third and fourth nine weeks. March 8 will remain a student holiday and a staff workday, and the early-release day, which generally signifies the end of the nine weeks and midterms for high school students, was moved from March 5 to March 12.
The board came to this decision after discussing the importance the nine week mark holds for seniors whose GPA and rank end at the third nine weeks and the importance it holds for those trying to gain UIL eligibility. They also discussed changes that will need to be made to virtual classes and dual credit classes, which follow a different schedule from in-person classes.
The board also approved the revision to use banked school days to end the school year, moving the last day of school to May 21 instead of May 26, with May 21 becoming an early release day. Superintendent Kevin Rodgers told the board “we just need to wrap a bow on this year,” and give teachers a mental break with an earlier release.
Board members also discussed the missed school day waivers appointed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) which allows LISD to submit waivers that allow the days from Feb. 16 tto Feb. 19 to be missed without having to make them up or use bad weather days. Because of this waiver, the district still had 5.39 banked days which were used to move the end of the school year.
Lastly, the board discussed and approved the LISD Winter Storm Resolution, which ensures that hourly employees get paid for the four days students were out for bad weather and puts guidelines in place regarding the delegation of authority in the aftermath of the winter storm.
The next school board meeting will be held on March 8 at 6 p.m.
Senior Kate Knauff is the news section editor and this is her third year on staff. She enjoys drinking coffee, hanging out with her friends and watching...
Kristi • Mar 3, 2021 at 10:13 PM
Yea I agree. There is no point for rank and gpa for seniors right now. Don’t know why the board even discussed about it. Maybe one of the members have a conflict of interest.
John • Mar 3, 2021 at 1:42 AM
Just wondering, but what is so important about GPA and class rank for seniors at this point? Seniors are already done with college admissions and any difference in GPA and class rank won’t matter at the 3rd nine weeks since colleges won’t see updated GPA/rank from the 3rd 9 weeks for admissions. In fact, seniors see their updated rank after they’ve heard from colleges. And as long as seniors don’t slack off too hard for their final transcript, their acceptances won’t be rescinded. I’m a senior and can’t find any reason why the LISD board even discussed rank importance for seniors. The only place it barely matters is graduation order, and I highly doubt seniors will even care about this since 90% of seniors won’t be called by rank, and the 10% that do won’t care about small changes anyways. Afterall, it’s all over by this point. In my opinion, GPA and rank concerns are over for seniors. It makes me wonder whether the LISD board even knows about the actual concerns students have.