ASHLAND — The Southern Boone Board of Education tabled a vote on a proposed four-day school week at its meeting Monday.
The school board's move means the four-day school week will not go into effect in the 2026-27 school year as proposed.
The proposition would have classes Tuesday-Friday from 7:50 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This means each school day would be extended by 40 minutes.
The current early release on Wednesdays would have also been eliminated.
The decision was made after the board decided there was not enough data to fully understand the impact of a four-day school week.
Additionally, they wanted to weigh other ideas as well as public comment.
Surveys sent to staff and families showed the majority of staff in favor of a new schedule, while parents are split with a small majority being opposed, according to previous KOMU 8 reporting.
Superintendent Dr. Tim Roth also acknowledged that while the four-day week will not go into effect, the board's work regarding teacher recruitment, retention and compensation will continue.
Gannon Seyer, a Southern Boone High School junior, expressed his frustration over the potential four-day week.
"I think a lot of students don't think it through. A lot of the students say a day off of school, yes, a day off school. They don't see it as a chance to expand on themselves, they don't see it as a chance to go find employment to work while they may say that that's not what I see. I hear I want a day off school," Seyer said.
Forty-seven percent of rural districts in Missouri have a four-day school week, according to a 2024 report by the Show-Me Institute. Across the state, 173 out of 518 school district have adopted a four-day school week.
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