Planning periods back at McAllen ISD

McAllen Independent School District Superintendent René Gutiérrez directed staff to bring back planning periods for teachers at a school board meeting Wednesday in a reversal of one of the district’s most controversial cost savings measures from last year.

 

Prior to cutting planning periods last year, hundreds of McAllen teachers had two blocks of non-instructional time daily.

 

A significant budget deficit last year prompted McAllen ISD to cut one of those blocks of times for a large number of teachers in a move the district said would save it a couple of million dollars annually.

 

 

That decision wasn’t popular with the rank and file at the district but did — after opposition — win board support.

 

The district is in a more comfortable financial position this year.

 

On Wednesday trustees made it clear the initiative no longer had board support.

 

“I think we need to shift our mindset to understand that planning is not a luxury,” Trustee Lizzie Kittleman said. “And I know it could have been presented as ‘Oh, this is an extra something that our district does.’ But it is an essential part of teaching. You can’t be student centered if you’re not centered on planning and preparation. So the two go hand in hand.”

 

Trustees emphasized Wednesday feedback they’d received that was in favor of bringing back planning periods and criticized administration’s justification for continuing the cut.

 

“And it doesn’t add up,” Trustee Lucy Regalado said about the administration’s reasoning for keeping planning periods eliminated.

 

Board support for reinstating planning periods wasn’t unanimous.

 

Board President Aaron Rivera expressed concern about renewing planning periods being shortsighted.

 

“We’re creating a problem for the future. That’s what’s happening here,” he said.

 

Gutiérrez initially echoed concern.

 

 

Planning periods aren’t, he said, something that can be revoked and renewed willy-nilly.

 

Once they’re back, they’re back, he said.

 

“Financially we’d have to look at other areas that we’d have to save money,” Gutiérrez.

 

Ultimately Gutiérrez said the district will bring back planning periods and acknowledged some of the feedback from teachers that trustees had referenced.

 

“I was at a meeting last week, and one of the teachers told me that he would rather have his planning period back than a raise. And thought that was a very strong statement by that teacher, because he says he was overwhelmed and it was a lot,” he said.