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Siuslaw board hears mixed reaction after survey shows majority support for a 4‑day week
Summary
Board members said they were surprised by a district survey that showed stronger-than-expected support for a four-day school week but raised concerns about student meals, childcare and instructional quality; the board agreed to research the issue further before any implementation.
The Siuslaw School District board discussed March 11 a recent staff-and-parent survey that showed a majority preference for a four-day school week, but several directors said the results require further study.
At a 30-minute work session before the regular meeting, the chair summarized the survey results and directors and administrators said they were surprised by the split. A director noted the parent survey returned roughly a 70/30 split favoring a four-day schedule and the staff response showed a roughly 75/25 split favoring four days. "I was surprised at the majority vote," the chair said when describing the results.
Board members identified several concerns they said must be resolved before a change: how food-insecure students would get meals, where families would find childcare on the off day, effects on special education services and whether longer school days would harm learning quality. One director said, "I would not be okay with kids being hungry because of a change that we made," summarizing why food access is a central consideration.
Administrators and directors also discussed examples from nearby districts. A director who spoke with Mapleton administrators said that district used targeted grant funding and partnerships (including expanded Boys & Girls Club programming) to provide supervision and meals on the off day and that staff retention improved after switching to a four-day week.
The board did not vote on the weekly schedule. Chair and directors agreed to collect more data and research implementation details — including transportation, program costs and potential trade-offs — and to revisit the topic at a future meeting or in April. The board emphasized calendar adoption (a separate procedural requirement) could proceed on schedule without committing to a weekly‑schedule change.
Next steps: directors asked staff to gather comparative data from other districts, clarify funding and service models for Fridays, and return with options that address the raised concerns.
