Rather than holding classes on a rigid schedule of six fixed periods, Buchholz experimented with an innovative system of modular scheduling. The school day was divided into 21 mods, each 17 minutes long, and class length varied from one to three mods, depending on subject matter and day of the week. The traditional ringing bell to signal the end (and start) of a "period" was replaced with an electronic chime for each mod. The modular day included blocks of free time for students, designated Individual Directed Study time (IDS). In a January 1971 interview for the "Gainesville Sun" newspaper, Principal Temple explained that in a conventional school with a normal six and one-half hour day, students spend 275 minutes per week in each of six classes. In its first year operating on an abbreviated, "early" schedule, Buchholz students spent 260 minutes per-week, per-class; this increased to 275 minutes the following school year, when the county's acquisition of a dozen new school buses allowed Buchholz to begin classes at a "normal" time.