Gadsden Independent School District staff presented three draft school calendars for 2025–26 to the board on Jan. 9 and asked for direction on which two drafts should proceed to stakeholder review.

A district staff member leading the presentation said the three drafts share key parameters — 180 minimum instructional days, at least 11 hours and 40 minutes of instructional time, and provisions to use professional-development hours toward the state-required instructional-hour total. The drafts differ chiefly in start and end dates and the placement of professional-development and virtual-learning days.

Two drafts (referred to in the presentation as drafts A and C) would keep the district’s traditional practice of ending before Memorial Day; the third draft would begin one week later and finish the week after Memorial Day. The presenter said that if the latter option is chosen the district would need to resolve how to handle seniors’ end-of-year schedules and graduation.

The district proposes two “virtual learning” Mondays during the school year as practice for districtwide remote instruction; principals recommended using such a day to test connectivity and readiness. The calendar also keeps two parent-conference days; secondary students would have asynchronous virtual learning on those days while elementary students would have the day off, a practice the presenter said the district has used for the last two years.

Staff also described constraints: state guidance about counting instructional hours vs. days, the requirement to remain off on general election day, a maximum of four remote learning days allowed under PED rules, and the need to pre-clear calendars with human resources and finance before public voting. The presenter said the district anticipates consulting the Equity Council and requested time to finalize two drafts to be posted for stakeholder voting, noting that alignment of fall break with Las Cruces (and other regional districts) is the outstanding coordination issue.

Board members asked how a later finish would affect seniors and graduation; the presenter said the district would explore options but had not reached firm conclusions. A board member also asked how snow days interact with remote/virtual days and whether missed time is counted by hours or days; staff said they would research that question and return with details.

Staff said they expect to return with final action after stakeholder input and any needed legislative developments.