District favors Calendar Option A after DPC vote; trustees weigh grading‑period and zoning tradeoffs

Georgetown ISD staff told trustees on Dec. 1 they expect to bring a recommended school calendar to the board in December after the District Performance Committee (DPC) and community surveys narrowed three options.

Speaker 12 summarized the process: staff solicited feedback beginning in October, DPC reviewed community and employee input and ranked three viable calendar options, and an at‑large survey (about 600 responses) was counted as an additional vote. Staff said Option A — a familiar August Thursday start, an October fall break and two professional‑learning days in January — was the DPC’s first choice and will be the staff recommendation.

Trustees asked operational questions about the October fall break and UIL eligibility. Speaker 12 said shifting the grading period by one week could lengthen the UIL grace period for clearing incompletes, but acknowledged tradeoffs for teachers and schedules. Staff also said a teacher‑time task force is studying elementary half‑day structures and that calendar choices will be revisited as they receive additional feedback.

On rezoning, Speaker 7 reviewed the district’s parameters (balance capacity for two new campuses, prioritize student program continuity, minimize impacts) and presented 10‑year projections showing rezoning scenarios that push enrollment pressure out through the early 2030s. Staff flagged local pockets of comment — Village/Riverbend, Williams/Carver and Wolf Ranch — and clarified that, in many cases, high‑school assignments would not change for affected families even if middle‑school zoning does. Staff also said transfers remain an option but that transportation to a non‑assigned campus may not be provided in some cases.

What’s next: Staff will post maps and scenario versions on the website, continue town halls through January and February, and return to the board with a formal calendar recommendation and updated rezoning materials.