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Richardson ISD outlines shift from block to traditional 7/8-period day to capture staffing savings
Summary
District staff proposed moving secondary schools from a block schedule to a traditional 7- or 8-period day, citing $4M projected savings at middle levels and $7M at high school; trustees discussed trade-offs for instruction, athletics, CTE and fine arts and asked for campus-level implementation details.
District staff presented a recommendation to transition secondary schools from a block schedule to a traditional 7- or 8-period day, a change officials said is part of a broader effort to align staffing allocations to current enrollment.
The presentation framed the proposal as both pedagogical and fiscal: staff explained there is "no perfect schedule," and outlined instructional trade-offs between 90-minute blocks and daily 45/50-minute periods. Among the benefits cited for a traditional day were more consistent daily practice for students, less instructional decay after absences, and more frequent mastery checks. For high schools, the plan includes an optional 0-hour to provide flexibility for dual credit, fine arts or CTE activities (transportation would not be provided for 0-hour).
Staff projected about $4,000,000 in staffing savings for middle/junior-high portions of the change and $7,000,000 in savings at the high-school level, which together feed a larger right-sizing target. Presenters emphasized that reductions would be realized primarily through attrition and that class-size ratios would be maintained in the allocation calculations. "We are not increasing class sizes," one presenter told trustees.
Trustees questioned operational implications: how the CTE center and transportation would be coordinated, how athletics double-blocking would be handled, whether teachers will face more preps in a day, and when the savings would materialize. Staff said they will provide campus-level samples and FAQs, offer targeted professional development for teachers who will teach shorter periods, and provide counselor support and advisory lessons to help students adjust.
Board members requested additional modeling comparing recurring and transitional impacts; staff said they will return with more detailed schedules for each campus and clearer assumptions about when full savings will appear in the budget (staff cautioned some savings may not appear until 27-28 due to the pace of attrition).
