Unlocking Resources Through Scheduling - How Lubbock Independent School District Used Scheduling to Enable Instructional, Staffing, and Budget Priorities

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum

A case study of Lubbock Independent School District shows how strategic school scheduling helped the district navigate academic recovery and enrollment decline during the 2023-24 planning cycle. Facing the ESSER fiscal cliff, LISD partnered with Timely and used scheduling to “right-size” staffing while funding new instructional programs. The approach improved middle school ELA and math, expanded capacity for students with disabilities, and generated over $2 million in savings through attrition for reallocation without layoffs or program cuts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Total Enrollment

Why Scheduling Matters

How Lubbock Unlocked Resources

STEP 1: Assess, align on goals, and initiate a planning process with school leadership

Unlocking Resources Through Scheduling How Lubbock Independent School District used scheduling to enable instructional, staffing, and budget priorities Executive Summary As Superintendent Kathy Rollo and the team at Lubbock Independent School District (LISD) prepared for the 2023-24 school year, they faced a host of complex challenges, shared by many districts around the country. The pandemic had taken its toll academically and emotionally, exacerbating achievement gaps. Enrollment has declined, falling approximately 9% in the last five years. And the financial pressure of that enrollment decline has been compounded by the ESSER fiscal cliff. The LISD team knew they needed to simultaneously ‘right-size’ the district while enabling investment in new programs to enhance academic outcomes and the student experience. Total Enrollment | 2018-2019 27,759 | | --- | | 2019-2020 27,348 | | 2020-2021 26,451 | | 2021-2022 25,659 | | 2022-2023 25,247 | Source: National Center for Education Statistics LISD took a unique approach to building these plans: they began working with Timely, a new scheduling organization, and utilized school scheduling as a vehicle to enable priorities for the 2023-24 school year. As a result, Lubbock was able to make significant progress towards its objectives: Address the need for improved middle school academic performance: the district invested in new double blocks of ELA and math which required hiring additional teachers. Increase capacity to better serve students with disabilities, a subgroup that has been steadily increasing even as overall enrollment has been decreasing: the district hired 18 more staff members across grades 6 to 12 and dedicated additional funding for professional development. Efficiently allocate resources across all schools to address budget pressures from declining enrollment: by scheduling more consistent class sizes and teacher loads, LISD reduced staffing by 37 positions across 9 middle schools and 5 high schools, representing ~$2.2 million of savings which were then reallocated to the above priorities. Critically, these savings were realized through attrition, and thus didn’t require layoffs or program cuts. Altogether, scheduling uncovered misalignments and inefficiencies of over $2 million, which were then reallocated to critical new investments in middle school academics and supports for special populations to address the district’s evolving needs, centered on the urgency to enhance student learning. And the district took the first step of a multi-year plan to more efficiently allocate resources to schools given budget pressures while strengthening transparency and partnership between schools and the central office. “We can’t ignore the fact our district has gotten smaller over the years. As a result, we are carefully and proactively addressing this reality by adjusting in ways that are respectful and supportive of our hard-working staff and, most of all, strengthens the student experience. And that requires diving into scheduling and staffing.” -Rick Rodriguez, Chief Operating Officer, Lubbock Independent School District Unlocking Resources Through Scheduling | 2 Why Scheduling Matters In districts across the country, school leaders routinely struggle with the development of their schedules. And their counterparts within central offices are often not equipped to support them nor have visibility into the staffing and scheduling decisions made by school sites. “It’s honestly one of the hardest things we have to do every year.” -District Chief Academic Officer Yet, as evidenced by the Lubbock Independent School District, scheduling shouldn’t be a process district and school leaders suffer through and endure, but rather one that enables academic, staffing, and budget priorities. And most importantly, strategic scheduling ensures students get the courses they want and need to be on track to graduate, remain inspired to attend and excel

FAQs

What challenges did Lubbock Independent School District face entering the 2023-24 school year?

LISD confronted pandemic-related academic and emotional impacts, declining enrollment of about 9% over five years, and added financial pressure from the ESSER fiscal cliff.

How did LISD use scheduling to improve academic and staffing outcomes?

The district invested in new double blocks of ELA and math, which required additional teachers, and increased staffing across grades 6 to 12 while dedicating funding to professional development for students with disabilities.

How were budget pressures addressed without layoffs or program cuts?

By scheduling more consistent class sizes and teacher loads, LISD reduced staffing by 37 positions across middle and high schools, achieving about $2.2 million in savings through attrition that was then reallocated to priority investments.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum