The Little Rock School Board decided to change the middle school block schedule to save money

Little Rock, Arkansas – The Little Rock School District is still making choices to save fifteen million dollars in expenses. The Little Rock School Board convened to deliberate on the possibility of modifying middle school students’ timetables.

The school board decided to go from block scheduling to a six-period day with a unanimous vote. This choice was made to reduce spending from the budget.

According to Dr. Shay Loring, the Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Schools at LRSD, the initial suggestion was to switch from a block schedule to a seven-period day. The school board decided to increase the number of classes from four to six per day on Thursday.

“Where they’ll have six classes each day, but three of them, English, math, and science, will be every day. The other three classes will remain on an A day, B day schedule,” Loring said.

In line with the district’s strategy and reduction of fifteen million dollars. The idea has the potential to save the district one million dollars. That sum, according to Loring, might vary.

“I think what we have to do next is finish course selection and allow the students to select their course, finish open enrollment, and see what our numbers are for each school,” Loring said. “Then that will determine how many teachers we need and where we need them.”

According to Loring, the school board’s decision will result in a 90-minute class hour being cut down to 63 minutes. She stated that pupils will have additional options for electives the next year.

“They wanted to be assured that while we’re still planning for their high-quality education and their core content classes, they still have opportunities for electives and extra-curricular activities at school,” she said.

According to Loring, the district ought to have a clearer idea of how much money this adjustment will save within the next month.

As a result of the schedule modification, 11 roles will be targeted for savings of $1 million, according to LRSD’s draft plan.