St. Louis Park administrators defend yearlong transition to block schedule amid budget shortfall and teacher concerns

St. Louis Park district administrators told a school board study session that the district will move high schools to a block schedule after a one-year transition year using a 5.5-out-of-7 teacher-day model, citing projected state funding shortfalls and the need for in-contract professional development.

The shift, administrators said, is aimed at increasing instructional time for students while creating embedded professional development so teachers can learn block-specific course design without being paid for out-of-contract summer work. "We won't be receiving any additional funds. We are actually preparing for less wage of support because of the projected deficit," said Dr. Hynes, a district administrator, during the meeting. "Moving to the block is the priority, but we have to, we gotta take the trip."

The case for the change combined fiscal and instructional arguments. Administrators reported the district's reserve at 8.27% and warned that several state-level funding buckets are under pressure; they said the district must analyze current spending and reduce costs now to prepare for a projected future deficit. Administrators also repeated…