‘A REALLY HUGE WIN FOR THE TEACHERS’: FEWER WORKDAYS REQUIRED IN BRENHAM ISD’S 2025-26 CALENDAR
calendar adopted by the Brenham
School Board on Monday.
Teachers will have fewer required workdays in Brenham ISD’s newly adopted school calendar for the 2025-26 year.
Monday’s approval of the calendar by the Brenham School Board was preceded by trustees agreeing to amend Brenham ISD’s District of Innovation Plan. The amendment focuses on teacher workday exemptions over the course of 10-month contracts.
Chief Academic Officer Sara Borchgardt said the previous requirement of 187 contract service days limited the district’s ability to optimize the calendar. She said this change means the number of contract days will be determined based on the instructional calendar without having a strict 187-day requirement – in this case, the new calendar has 182 contract days – while still keeping in compliance with the state’s minimum instructional minutes requirement for students.
Borchgardt said the District of Innovation committee unanimously recommended approval of the amendment.
Board Vice President Jared Krenek said with this, teachers will keep their same level of pay with less time required of them. He said while the district may not be able to give teachers a pay raise right now, this is “a great opportunity for us to give them something back.” Trustee Archer Archer called it “a really huge win for the teachers.”
As for the calendar itself, students will head back to class on Wednesday, August 13th. They will have September 17-19 off for the county fair. The Thanksgiving break will run November 24-28. The last day of the fall semester will be December 19th, and students will come back on January 7, 2026.
Spring Break will be March 9-13, 2026. The final day of school will be May 22, 2026, with graduation that same day.
Krenek pointed out that the new calendar does not include half-days and expressed support of that adjustment. He said those days could prove difficult for working families who had to pick up their children from school midday, and he also felt there was not much learning that happened on half-days, anyway.
