Hallsville school district will switch to four-day school week due to recruitment troubles
HALLSVILLE, Mo. (KMIZ)
Leaders at the Hallsville School District hope a new four-day schedule will attract more teachers to the district.
The Hallsville School District held a school board meeting Wednesday night, giving families a brief update on its four-day school week transition plans.
"We are in a position where we are surrounded by other districts that are able to pay their teachers more and other districts that have already switched to a four-day week," Kari Yeagy said, Director of Hallsville Communications said.
Over the past decade, over 100 schools throughout the state have transitioned to a four-day workweek, Hallsville being the most recent to make the switch for its 2022-2023 school year.
The school week will be Tuesday through Friday, with students and staff off on most Mondays.
"One Monday a month would be for professional learning communities and the other Mondays would be for teachers to do paperwork lesson plan," Yeagy said.
In February, the school board approved 4-2 to move to a four-day week. The school week will be from Tuesday to Friday, giving students and staff off Monday.
North Callaway, Hallsville, and Harrisburg are some Mid-Missouri school districts currently operating four-day weeks. At last check, 115 schools, and 21 school districts in Missouri currently have four-day school weeks. Several districts made the switch during the pandemic.
Hallsville hopes to have its plans finalized by this august.
"If this is a benefit we can provide to our teachers and that they feel is a benefit, then I think it's one thing the board wanted to look at to explore," Yeagy said.
The district ensures that all staff will maintain their current and annual wages and benefits. Maintenance and custodial staff will still be asked to work five-day weeks.
A concern for some parents is needing childcare on the district's off day. A team of teachers, parents, and community members met on April 12th to discuss options for child care. Options include local churches, daycares, high school students, and interested support staff.
The district plans to gather data so that the impact of the four-day school week can be assessed over time.
