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Superintendent explains NTI limits and board approves calendar amendment to end student year May 29
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Michael Bacon explained constraints on using nontraditional instruction (NTI) and the district’s state-funding pressures, and the board approved a calendar amendment to make March 10 an instructional day and move a previously scheduled day to May 30, allowing the student year to end May 29.
At its February meeting, Bullitt County Superintendent Dr. Michael Bacon outlined why the district uses nontraditional instruction (NTI) selectively and asked the board to approve a calendar amendment intended to limit extension of the school year.
Dr. Bacon said legislative changes since the pandemic removed some of the district’s flexibility to close or place only part of the district on NTI; he told the board the district must meet state instructional requirements and is funded on average daily attendance. “We are required by law to get 10 62 instructional hours and 170 days of instruction,” Dr. Bacon said, and he provided an example of how attendance affects state funding: using round numbers, a district enrollment of 12,000 with typical attendance near 93% would mean funding for about 11,160 students — a difference Dr. Bacon said can equate to roughly $3,600,000 in state funding the district does not receive.
Dr. Bacon explained that the district has used NTI for seven of the 16 days it has missed this year and that nine other closures must be made up to meet the Kentucky Department of Education requirement of 170 instructional days. He listed the nine closures the district planned to make up: October 31; November 1; January 6, 7 and 8; and February 5, 6, 7 and 19. District staff told the board that shifting the March 10 scheduled day to a regular in-person day and moving the previously scheduled Bullitt Day to May 30 would allow the last student day to be May 29 instead of an anticipated June 10 if NTI availability were exhausted.
Dr. Bacon said the district used a mix of NTI and traditional makeup days this year to balance instructional continuity and staff workload, and noted that five straight NTI days would be difficult for teachers, students and families. He said the district will gather feedback from students, parents and teachers to improve NTI practice if NTI remains available in future years, but warned that legislation introduced in the state House could eliminate the NTI option going forward.
On the calendar amendment, the board voted 4-0 to approve the change. The motion to approve the calendar amendment was made by Miss Neil and seconded by Marci Hodges; the board recorded the vote as unanimous (4-0). Board documents and staff remarks also noted that moving the school year earlier helps juniors who will take the statewide ACT on March 11 and gives AP students an extra instructional day before fixed national AP and ACT test dates.
Ending: The board approved the calendar amendment to keep March 10 in person and move the previously scheduled day to May 30, with the last day for students now planned as May 29 and teacher closing on June 2, subject to future weather or legislative changes.
