School District Builds Master Schedules with AI
Quick Summary
Austin Independent School District uses generative AI to build the master schedule for its 33 middle and high schools, the puzzle that decides which teachers teach which classes when. The district reports about $2,600 saved per campus and at least 50 hours less scheduler work a year.
The Use Case
Audits found inefficient secondary schedules: some teachers without full loads, some in loosely defined support roles, and class sizes that drifted. Building a master schedule by hand takes a scheduler weeks and touches most of the budget. With software from Timely, schedulers enter the period structure, target class sizes, teacher planning needs (for example, common planning for language arts) and special education balance rules. The AI generates the schedule, places students, separates conflicting placements and balances special education and general education enrollment. It was piloted in 2024-25 and rolled out district-wide in 2025-26.
Real Example
- A scheduler enters an 8-period day, a target of 25 students per class and the teacher roster
- She adds constraints: common planning for language arts, two students who must not share a class
- The AI produces a full schedule in minutes
- The dashboard shows two teachers with light loads; she adjusts and regenerates
- Special education and general education sections come out balanced
- The schedule is exported to the student information system weeks earlier than before
Why It Matters
- About $2,600 saved per campus across 33 schools
- At least 50 hours less scheduler work a year
- "Honestly, 80% of your budget is spent from your master schedule," per Jolene Bruce, director of student data services