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Board debates protecting instructional time amid talk of 4‑day week and 7‑period schedule
Summary
Trustees debated preserving instructional minutes, middle-school dismissal times and potential future shifts to a seven-period day as the district contends with enrollment declines, staffing and funding pressures; no formal schedule change was adopted.
Trustees at the Weston County School District No. 1 board meeting on March 12 discussed options to better protect teacher contact time and student instructional minutes, including proposals to limit middle-school activity dismissals to 2 p.m., possible exceptions for tournaments and a longer-term consideration of a seven-period day as a response to declining enrollment and funding.
Why it matters: District leaders said declining average daily membership (ADM) and rising costs make staffing and program decisions more urgent. Trustees framed the schedule discussion as part of a larger effort to preserve programs and manage budgets without abrupt layoffs.
Board members emphasized two separate goals: protect classroom instructional time and preserve extracurricular opportunities. Trustee Brad LaCroix proposed a simple rule that “nobody leaves before 02:00” at the middle school to reduce lost instructional time. Trustees and staff debated whether tournaments and invitational events should be treated as exceptions; one trustee suggested wording that permits “tournament/invitational” events while restricting single-game events that cause students to miss school hours.
District staff and administrators described mixed feedback from teachers. Bryce (staff) said he received limited written input, noting “I heard 2 loud no's” from staff about an immediate change and that overall feedback was “all over the place.” He and other administrators told trustees that a year of planning would be helpful if the board opted to switch from a block schedule to a seven-period day, since pacing guides and lab-based CTE classes would require curriculum adjustments.
Finance and personnel implications framed the discussion. Board members noted the district lost about 30 students compared with the prior year, which the board estimate equates to an approximate $450,000 reduction in revenue, and said attrition may necessitate shared staffing, program consolidation or phased schedule changes when vacancies occur. One trustee recommended using attrition (retirements/resignations not tied to program necessity) to achieve cost savings rather than abrupt cuts.
No formal motion to change the school day or schedule was made; trustees asked administrators to continue studying the options and to return with more information. The board set a follow-up plan to continue discussions in future meetings, including consideration of how state legislative proposals and potential funding changes could alter the district’s ability to sustain programs and staffing.
Trustees reiterated a broader goal of treating staff as professionals and giving administrators discretion to prioritize tasks on shortened or altered days, while reaffirming the board’s expectation that the district will pursue clear protections for instructional time.
No vote to change school schedules occurred at the March 12 meeting.
