Monroe Public Schools proposes 0.5‑day professional development model in 2025–26 calendar

The Monroe Public Schools work session opened with a presentation of the 2025–26 school calendar, during which staff said the district plans to replace two‑hour delayed starts with 0.5‑day professional development sessions for staff.

"Instead of doing the two‑hour delays in the morning, we went with 0.5 days because that seemed to be more beneficial for PD and more beneficial for attendance of kids coming in," said Cindy, the staff member presenting the calendar. Board members were told the front page of the calendar has a parent‑facing format and the back page shows daily details for employee work counts.

Board members pressed for data comparing attendance and tardiness under the old two‑hour delay model and the 0.5‑day format. Cindy and other administrators said the shorter full PD blocks give teachers more usable time — roughly three hours on 0.5‑day schedules — and that the state counts the 0.5 day toward mandated session days.

The board also discussed the personnel cost of adding full PD days. An administrator gave a rough estimate of certified‑staff pay at about $400 per day per teacher and suggested that adding multiple full PD days district‑wide could amount to "probably in the tune of about a $120,000 a day bill" for certified staff; another board member noted including transportation and other staff would increase that figure. Members asked staff to provide comparative attendance data and cost scenarios for the board briefings before a formal decision.

The board did not vote on the calendar at the work session; staff said they would include talking points and data in upcoming board briefs and public materials ahead of the formal approval process.