MUSD suspends policy to make up time lost to walkout

 

By law, 180 days of instruction are required in the Maricopa Unified School District.

After a staff walkout, the district worked to accommodate six days out of school without extending the school year. Wednesday, the governing board approved the temporary suspension of the state-mandated policy.

Instead, it adopted a plan that would fit the equivalent minutes of instruction into 174 days, as allowed by law.

Board member Patti Coutré asked Human Resources Director Tom Beckett whether there was a plan to change the policy outright, apparently to allow the district to use equivalent minutes in the future without having to suspend policy.

“We are planning, on the May 30 agenda, to bring back a policy revision on this so that we don’t once again run into this situation,” Beckett said.

Beckett’s note to the board indicated the district will have “an equivalent number of minutes of instruction to equal 180 days of instruction without including the minutes/hours lost” during the closure.

The MUSD schools were closed as several faculty members participated in #RedForEd demonstrations at the capitol seeking an improved state education budget.

The board also voted to adjust the current school calendar to show the lost instructional days from April 26 through May 3. They also adopted the revised work schedule for certified and classified employees, “to ensure that classified employees are available to provide support services for the remainder of the school year and/or to provide classified employees the opportunity to make up lost work time due to school closures.”

As originally scheduled, the last day of classes for MUSD schools in May 25. High school graduation is May 24.