McAllen ISD trustees pause plan to change teacher and student start times; committee proposals to return to budget workshops

The McAllen Independent School District Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted to table further action on proposed changes to teacher work days and student start times, a discussion administrators said could affect the 2025–26 budget and staff planning time.

The item grew from district-led committees of parents, teachers, principals and district staff that produced multiple bell-schedule options for elementary, middle and high schools. The board motion to table the item passed unanimously, 7–0, allowing more time for review at budget workshops.

Why it matters: administrators told the board the proposed changes could affect federally and state-funded program minutes, special education individualized education program (IEP) scheduling, transportation routes and after-school care. Any change that reduces or alters instructional minutes would also change the district’s calendar, potentially requiring re-convening ARD/IEP meetings and shifting budget needs for summer work to reconvene those meetings.

District presentation and committee proposals Janet Nino, Associate Superintendent, told trustees that the elementary committee met across demographic and programmatic representation to weigh how different start times and teacher work-day lengths would affect special programs such as dual language, dyslexia services, pre-K funding and special education minute requirements. The committees considered four initial options but ultimately produced new proposals of their own. Nino said the groups ‘‘struck out all 4 options’’ and offered recommendations that generally kept the student instructional day intact while shifting teacher arrival/leave or lunch lengths to deliver planning time back to staff.

Examples of committee proposals presented to the board included: a teacher work day of 7:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. with a 40-minute lunch while students would remain on the current instructional schedule; a teacher day of 7:30–3:30 with a 30-minute lunch and a student day of 7:45–3:00; and variants that kept the instructional minutes aligned with Texas requirements but adjusted teacher start/end to restore planning time.

Several trustees emphasized the intent behind the review. Trustee Delagarza Lopez said the board’s goal was to ‘‘find a way to bring planning time back’’ amid budget constraints, calling the proposals ‘‘one idea on how to bring that forward.’’ Trustee Haddad said the discussion was intended as a nonmonetary incentive to attract and retain staff and to reduce teacher overload.

Middle and high school feedback Doctor De Hoyos, Associate Superintendent for Instructional Services, summarized committee work at secondary levels. Middle school committees recommended maintaining the integrity of nine-period schedules and the block scheduling model, proposing a later start/earlier end option for future years but recommending the current middle school schedule for 2025–26 to avoid reissuing ARD/504 schedules. High school committees likewise favored the current 50-minute period configuration to preserve career and technical education pathways and travel between campuses, but they suggested exploring adjustments in later years to restore teacher planning time.

Budget and operational constraints Administrators repeatedly cautioned trustees that changes could require: (1) reconvening IEP/ARD meetings for students who receive services tied to specific minutes, (2) revised transportation plans to match new bell times, (3) summer staff meetings to rework schedules (with associated compensation questions), and (4) potential loss or reallocation of minutes needed for state or programmatic recognitions. Nino said committees asked that any plan ‘‘keep the 45 minutes in the instructional program day for reteach and enrich’’ so intervention services are not displaced.

Board action Trustee Sofia Pena moved and Trustee Haddad seconded a motion to table further action so the board could review the proposals in greater detail at upcoming budget workshops. The motion passed unanimously, 7–0.

Next steps Administrators said they will bring the scheduling options and their budgetary implications back for continued discussion in a budget workshop; trustees asked for more time to examine the full packet of committee proposals and the staffing/compensation impacts before adopting a schedule change.

Ending The board took no schedule or budget action Tuesday; trustees directed staff to return with refined proposals and cost estimates for follow-up workshops.