Board To Consider Four-Day Week In 2021-22

Everything was seemingly on track last spring for the Bourbon School Board to approve a four-day week, joining a growing list of Missouri districts in the process.

However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic dashed those plans and because students lost nearly a quarter of the school year, the board pulled back for at least the current calendar year.

Bourbon Superintendent Dr. Kyle Gibbs said during the board’s Nov. 19 meeting that members should revisit the idea.

A hearing was scheduled last March for the public to weigh in, but it was postponed with school being out and limits in place on group gatherings.

Time ran out and the board took no action on reducing the schedule. Gibbs said in August that a four-day week week was still under consideration for the 2020-21 year.

Bourbon began exploring the four-day schedule last winter.

There were 61 districts in Missouri that were on four-day schedules in the 2019-20 school year. Twenty-eight districts implemented it last year.

Lathrop was the first to make the change in 2010 and the number of districts joining in keeps growing.

When Bourbon sent out a survey to parents, 67% responded favorably to a four-day school week.

Faculty members also were on board with the switch.

Gibbs researched the topic among other districts and some reported that a four-day week helped cut transportation costs. 

The four-day week also is seen as a way for smaller schools to retain staffers who otherwise leave for higher-paying jobs at bigger districts.

With a four-day schedule would come a longer school day, with the first bell well at 7:45 a.m.  and dismissal at 3:45 p.m.

The original plan called for no school on Monday, giving students and faculty a consistent three-day weekend.