The school board in the fast-growing Southern Boone R-1 school district in Ashland has voted to table whether or not to adopt a four-day school week.
Reporter Mitch Kaminski from our news partner ABC-17 says the board cites a lack of data for the main reason.
Southern Boone R-1 Superintendent Dr. Tim Roth has said that going to a four-day school week would be aimed at addressing teacher recruitment and retention. Opponents of a four-day school week in Ashland worry about childcare for the day there’s no school, as well as food needs for the children that day. ABC-17’s Kaminski quotes Southern Boone R-1 officials as saying that regardless of Monday’s vote to table the issue, recruitment and retention of teachers is still a priority.
Current numbers from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) show that there are now 179 Missouri school districts with four-day weeks. That’s up from 15 districts a decade ago.