The Independence School District will be able to keep its four-day week after voters approved the shorter schedule.
About 61.7% of voters on Tuesday decided to retain the four-day school week, according to unofficial election results. The Independence School District has been on the shorter week for two years, but a new Missouri law requires certain school districts to get voter approval to start or continue a four-day week.
Independence will still have to put the issue before voters every 10 years in order to continue. Beginning with the 2026-27 academic year, other school districts impacted by the state law will also need voter approval to keep or start the shorter schedule.
In a statement, the Independence board of education's president, Carrie Dixon, thanked families, staff and community members for making their voices heard, regardless of how they voted.
"As we move forward, our focus remains the same — serving our students with excellence, supporting our teachers and staff, and ensuring that every decision we make strengthens the opportunities available to children across the Independence School District," Dixon said.
Jon Turner, an associate professor at Missouri State University who researches the four-day school week, said other similarly-sized suburban school districts would be watching the vote's outcome.
"There's no doubt that will give some school leaders and those other larger districts some encouragement to at least consider the transition," Turner said last week.
Crystal City, a rural district south of St. Louis, was the state's first school district to put the four-day week on the ballot earlier this year. Residents overwhelmingly approved the measure, but with just over 500 students, the school district is much smaller than Independence.
The Independence School District filed a lawsuit last fall to overturn the state law, but a judge denied the district's request in September.
With nearly 14,000 students, it's by far the largest district in Missouri to make the switch. The next-largest is the Grandview R-II School District southwest of St. Louis, with more than 4,000 students.
Nearly a third of the state's school districts participated in a four-day week in the 2024-25 school year. The trend comes as schools navigate how to attract and retain educators with limited resources.
Missouri ranks near last in the country on teacher salaries and spending on public schools, so districts rely heavily on local sources like property taxes to fund classrooms.
"Nobody does the four-day week because they want to. They're doing it because they're trying to figure out a strategy to deal with challenges," Turner said.
Independence school leaders said the number of teacher applicants skyrocketed after the district made the switch. Nearly two-thirds of applicants said the change was one of their top three priorities, according to a study from the Policy Research in Missouri Education Center.
Parents and caregivers shared mixed opinions with KCUR about the new schedule shortly after the district made the switch. Some families said the extra day off improved their students' mental health and gave them extra time to catch up on homework.
Others found a lack of support and tired students on the longer school days.
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