Weston County forum lays out tradeoffs of a proposed four-day school week

Presenter, a district representative, opened a community forum on an alternative calendar by saying, “We're here tonight to talk about the possibility of an alternative calendar.” The session focused on two calendar options under consideration, one of which would move district schools to a four-day school week with longer regular days to meet state-required instructional time.

The discussion matters because any calendar change affects student instructional minutes, staff schedules and benefits, athletics and extracurricular travel, and services for students who rely on school meals and special-education supports. The presenter told the audience that the state board of education approves school calendars once a year and that the district would have to commit to a change for at least a year: “The state board of education approves all calendars for all schools in the state, and they do that once a year,” the presenter said.

District staff described how the four-day option would lengthen daily hours to meet state contact-hour rules. Officials said current secondary schedules run about 440 minutes from roughly 8:10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and that state rules convert the statutory 175 school days into minimum contact-hour requirements: elementary schools need about 900 contact hours per year, middle schools about 950 and high schools about 1,000, according to the presenter. Under the four-day schemes discussed, staff estimated the district could lose on the order of roughly 20 hours of on-campus student time over a school year compared with the existing five-day calendar, depending on the exact daily start and end times.

Community members and staff raised several recurring concerns. An elementary teacher who identified herself in the forum warned about supervision and food access for younger students if Fridays became noninstructional: “If we give them another day to do that, these kids are gonna be on technology losing brain cells for three short days,” she said, and added that many students rely on school meals.

Parents, teachers and paraprofessionals pressed district representatives about staff work hours and benefits. One attendee summarized a widespread worry: reducing weekly contact time for some classified staff could risk dropping hours below benefit-eligibility thresholds. The presenter said the board’s intent is to “figure out a way for you guys to still get your hours and get benefits,” but offered no specific contractual changes at the forum.

Coaches and activity staff discussed how athletics might be scheduled. Carrie Vanders, who identified herself as “one of the activities directors,” said districts neighboring Weston County that use four-day weeks often schedule contests on Fridays and Saturdays so students do not miss instructional time: “What has happened in all the other districts around us is, yes, they don't miss school. Right?” Vanders said, explaining many schools place practices or physical-education blocks at the end of the day to allow earlier departures for out-of-town events.

Speakers also raised special-education service continuity and transportation as practical constraints. Multiple teachers said ensuring students on individualized education programs get required pull-out services on a four-day schedule is possible but would require coordination with other districts and service providers. A special-education teacher with experience in a four-day district described flex arrangements used elsewhere, including designated intervention or enrichment times on Fridays or making up services on other days.

Other community concerns included childcare and supervision for younger students on a noninstructional Friday, the availability of after-school programs or community partners to provide care, and the difficulty some local employers would face if large numbers of families needed daytime care on an additional weekday. Business concerns were reported by multiple speakers, and one attendee noted a local banker, Mike Morrison of First Northern Bank, had expressed worries about working parents.

District staff also noted broader fiscal and hiring pressures were part of the backdrop. A member of the public referenced a legislative funding dispute and a recent court-related funding recommendation; district presenters said state and legislative funding decisions will affect local budgets but did not tie any calendar option to a specific savings estimate at the forum.

The board invited input and conducted an informal show-of-hands poll of forum participants on preferences among the presented options. The presenter told attendees the district will hold another forum next Sunday night and plans to review the calendar options at its first board meeting in February; exact meeting dates and any formal proposal to change the calendar were not specified at the forum.

The forum provided detailed operational questions the board will need to resolve before any change: precise daily bell times and bus schedules; whether middle and high schools would move from block scheduling to seven periods every day; how athletics and activities would be scheduled to minimize missed class time; how the district would preserve benefit-eligible hours for paraprofessionals and other staff; and how it would ensure access to meals and special-education services for students who need them.