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Board discusses school calendar, holiday requests and process for community input
Summary
Northside ISD trustees reviewed the district’s calendar process on Jan. 21 and directed staff to publish calendar‑committee meeting times so community members can present requests — including a petition from the public to recognize Cesar Chavez — for the 2026–27 calendar cycle.
The Northside ISD Board of Trustees discussed how the district sets its academic calendars and considered public requests to recognize additional commemorative dates at the Jan. 21 meeting.
Superintendent Dr. Kristopher Kraft and district staff outlined the multi-step process used to develop calendars: input from the Northside Communication Network (NCN) — a volunteer cohort of campus representatives — and from the Northside Education Improvement Council (NEIC), followed by review and input from district academic leadership and the board. Staff said committees typically collect teacher, parent and community input and that calendar proposals must also reconcile contracts, required minutes or days and state rules (some calendar elements are governed by state statute or guidance).
During public comment, Marcela Hernandez asked trustees to implement a Northside school holiday to honor Cesar Chavez and invited trustees to march at the Cesar Chavez March in San Antonio on March 22. Trustees and staff said they would publish committee meeting dates and encourage community participants to bring the request to NCN or NEIC subcommittees for consideration. Trustee discussion included alternative approaches (for example, marking a commemorative student day rather than a full district closure, or using Hispanic Heritage Month activities across campuses) and practical constraints such as the district’s current minute-based calendar and collective-bargaining/work-calendar implications.
Staff noted one legislative variable: several members mentioned that state-level changes could require a return to a minimum‑days model (for example, a minimum of 180 days) instead of minute-based calendars — an outcome that would shape future calendar choices. Trustees asked staff to publish upcoming committee meeting dates and to solicit wider community and student input as committees begin calendar work for 2026–27 and 2027–28.
Ending: Staff will publicize NCN and NEIC subcommittee meetings and accept public comment; calendar committees will review the Cesar Chavez request along with other potential commemorations and return recommendations to the board as part of the standard calendar cycle.
