Dallas School Board Votes to End 45-Minute Extended Workday for Teachers

Trustees in January had approved 45-minute addition to workday without extra pay

Dallas school trustees voted on Thursday to end a 45-minute extension to teacher workdays that was approved in January.

Teachers filed into the Dallas Independent School District board meeting prepared for battle.

They called on the board to overturn a policy that added 45 minutes to their day without any extra pay. After several hours of discussion, the board agreed with them, voting unanimously to put an end to the extended workday.

"It's emotional," said Rena Honea, Alliance AFT president. "They have a history with this district. They are here for these kids, and they have continued with all the confusion and chaos. As I was walking out, teachers were like, 'Yes, they listened. They heard.'"

Teachers had argued that they were never given any direction on how to spend the extra 45 minutes of their day. In many cases, the time was spent in meetings or on paperwork instead of with students, teacher said.

"From what I have seen at my child's school, the extra 45 minutes has done nothing to improve quality of teaching," parent Lakashia Wallace said.

Superintendent Mike Miles had proposed a measure suggesting how teachers spend the extra 45 minutes of their day, but trustees decided to go back to the way things were -- a 7-hour-45-minute workday.

"Sometimes we make a mistake, and I think this is one of those times," Trustee Nancy Bingham said. "We as a board did make a mistake."

Miles said teachers would remain on their current schedules until they have a plan in place to transition back to shorter work day, which should happen on or before the first of the year.

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