Board approves modified four‑day school week with late start for 2025–26; asks staff to seek added instructional minutes

The Churchill County School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a modified four‑day school week with a late start for the 2025–26 school year, approving the change for one year and asking district administrators to seek ways to increase instructional minutes and return to the board with recommendations.

Board chair and trustees said the decision followed months of committee work, staff and student surveys, and public conversation about instruction time, recruitment, and student attendance. The board motion to adopt the modified four‑day schedule with a late start was moved by Trustee McFadden and seconded by Trustee Ghetto; the vote was unanimous among the six trustees present.

The decision matters because it sets the district calendar students and families will use next school year and because trustees asked staff to immediately investigate whether the district can increase instructional minutes within the approved calendar. Superintendent Parsons and budget staff said the district must balance instructional time with contract obligations, transportation logistics and staffing constraints.

Trustees, principals and other administrators discussed tradeoffs at length before the vote. Supporters of the modified four‑day week said the schedule remains a recruiting advantage and helps staff work–life balance, and that the district had already increased instructional minutes in recent years when it revised daily schedules. Principals told the board that scheduled professional learning community (PLC) time on short Fridays is being used for timely collaboration, special‑education planning and other work they consider essential to student support.

Other trustees and board members pressed concerns about student outcomes and chronic absenteeism. Those trustees cited district data reviewed at a recent board retreat showing a multi‑year decline in state assessment and growth measures that began after the district moved away from a five‑day calendar. Several board members said they were open to the calendar compromise if administrators could show how to restore more instructional minutes and reduce student absences.

In response to those concerns the board included a specific direction in its motion: district staff were asked to review the approved calendar and return to the board with options to increase total instructional minutes where possible, and to report back promptly on feasibility and any transportation or contractual implications. Superintendent Parsons said staff would begin the work immediately and return with concrete scenarios to the board before the budget deadline.

The board also instructed staff to check secondary semester and credit‑hour impacts of the proposed late start, a concern raised during discussion, and to confirm compliance with Nevada Revised Statutes that govern minimum minutes/days for school calendars.

The vote was recorded as unanimous among trustees present. The board set the calendar for one year only and asked staff to return with detailed minute‑count proposals and any needed schedule adjustments for board consideration.

The district web site and central office will publish the approved calendar and the timeline for the follow‑up report once administrators complete their review.