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District to make up hurricane-related lost hours by converting two staff days to student contact
Summary
Deputy Superintendent Andrew Lethbridge told the board the district lost five instructional days to hurricanes and will make up eight hours by converting January 6 and February 13 to full student contact days so high school hour requirements remain compliant.
Deputy Superintendent Andrew Lethbridge told the Highlands County School Board the district missed five instructional days during the 2023-24 academic year because of Hurricanes Helene and Milton and must recapture hours to meet the state—s instructional-hour requirement.
"Each school district is required to have either 180 school days or 900 instructional hours," Lethbridge said. Because the district builds calendars on a 79-contract-day model and reduced early-release days, some secondary schools fell below the 900-hour threshold. Lethbridge recommended converting two non-student contact daysJanuary 6 (a teacher work/PD day) and February 13into student-contact days to recover the required hours.
Lethbridge said the change was discussed with teachers and calendar committees; teacher input favored the January option in surveys. He described the conversion as a targeted remedy to avoid more extensive calendar changes later.
The board also reviewed the proposed 2025-26 calendar, noting state constraints that prevent starting the school year before August 10 and describing built-in makeup and flex days that schools may use for preschool, conferences or parent engagement.
Board members raised scheduling concerns and expressed support for the approach to preserve instructional time while maintaining teacher planning needs. The motions to approve the revised 2024-25 calendar and the 2025-26 calendar were moved and recorded in the meeting minutes.
