Lewisville ISD trustees approve 4:35‑minute school day (2025–26) after debate over teacher planning time

The Lewisville Independent School District Board of Trustees voted on Feb. 3 to adopt a 4:35‑minute‑per‑day academic calendar for the 2025–26 school year, approving the motion by a 5–2 margin after extended debate about instructional time and staff planning needs.

Trustee Barker initially moved to approve a 4:45‑minute calendar that would provide additional staff work time; that motion received two affirmative voice votes and five opposed and did not pass. Trustee Bonner then moved to approve the 4:35‑minute calendar, which passed with trustees Lassonde, Taylor, Proznick, Okhotep and Bonner voting in favor and Trustees Sells and Barker opposed.

Administration said the district collected more than 5,000 community responses to a calendar survey. Of respondents, 60% favored the 4:45‑minute option and 40% favored the 4:35‑minute option; trustees debated turnout and the distribution of parents and staff among those responses. Administrators said the 4:35 option equates to roughly 175 student days and 4:45 to roughly 172 student days; staff work schedules would vary accordingly and the longer‑minute option would allow roughly 2.5 additional staff work days built into the year.

Supporters of the 4:35 calendar argued it preserves more instructional days for students and aligns the district with peer calendars, while supporters of the 4:45 option said extra planning time helps teachers manage increasing non‑instructional responsibilities and can aid recruitment and retention. Trustees discussed how converting from 'days' to 'minutes' under state law gives districts flexibility but also produces tradeoffs in how minutes are distributed across periods and grade spans.

The board’s decision was procedural and administrative; no immediate budget or staffing changes were approved as part of the vote. District communications said the chosen calendar will be communicated to families this week.