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Board reviews two-year data on four-day school week; mixed academic and financial signals
Summary
District staff presented comparative results after roughly two years on a four-day school week: slight gains in graduation and teacher attendance, lower chronic absenteeism and fewer suspensions for bullying in the first year, mixed MAP-to-SBAC results, and varying utility and transportation cost impacts.
District staff presented a nonaction review of comparative data from the shift to a four-day school week, about two years after the change. The presentation covered academic indicators, staffing and substitute-fill rates, transportation and utility expenditures, and other operational effects.
Mister Anderson reviewed state accountability indicators and district-tracked metrics. He reported a roughly 3 percentage-point increase in graduation rates, a 2.5-point reduction in chronic absenteeism and a roughly 50 percent decline in bullying or cyberbullying incidents that resulted in suspension in the first year after the change. Teacher average daily attendance showed a slight uptick. Anderson cautioned that some state-reportable measures for the most recent year were not yet posted publicly and that MAP (benchmark) projections and SBAC summative scores showed discrepancies for certain grades.
On academics, board discussion focused on MAP-projected proficiency and SBAC actual performance. Anderson explained the district’s board goals, which used MAP projected proficiency for target-setting, and noted that projected rates sometimes diverged from SBAC outcomes. He said the district has invested in instructional resources such as Lexia and other curriculum work and will continue monitoring performance.
Finance and operations showed mixed results. Utilities and some energy costs fluctuated across fiscal years; staff said some changes were driven by rate changes, geothermal conversions, and weather. Transportation expenses rose in some years because of wage increases tied to negotiated raises and statewide compensation changes, while fuel and overtime patterns varied. Facilities staff reported reduced overtime and more ability to schedule disruptive maintenance (for example, water shutoffs or major projects) on the district’s non-instruction day. IT staff are adjusting service schedules, shifting to combinations of full- and half-day site visits to meet demand on fewer days.
Human-resources notes included vacancies declining over recent years and improved absence-fill rates for substitutes in several months, though staffing remains strained in specific months. Anderson said the district did not adopt a four-day week primarily as a cost-saving measure: “we did not choose to go to a 4 day model for cost saving measures,” he said, and recommended more time is needed before making judgments about long-term impacts.
Board members asked for future calendarized reporting; trustees suggested staff return with annually and midyear-updated dashboards, including substitute-fill costs, specific counts for confiscations or behavioral incidents tied to other policies, and the state accountability data once published.
Ending: Anderson recommended continuing the four-day week with ongoing measurement and to calendarize follow-up reports; trustees asked staff to return with October/November state data and a midyear operational report.
