JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Roughly 30% of all Missouri school districts are only in session four days a week this year but legislation is moving forward in the statehouse to push districts back to five-day weeks.
The General Assembly approved four-day school weeks more than a decade ago to help schools save money after the recession. Instead, the shortened schedule is being used as a perk to hire and retain teachers. Sen. Doug Beck, D-Affton, is one lawmaker who wants to put an end to that and keep kids in the classroom.
“This bill is filled with a lot of carrots; there are no sticks and that’s what I was trying to do with this bill,” Beck said. “I was trying to incentivize five-day schools.”
In a state that is suffering from a large shortage of educators, 168 districts have implemented a shortened week. That’s 25 more schools than last year and an increase of more than 100 schools in the last five years.
“We live in a big and diverse state and as such, different communities, different districts have different needs,” Beck said. “Four-day school weeks are popular and seem to have minimal repercussions to leaving and teacher retention.”
The full article is available at ozarksfirst.com.
(Story by Emily Manley, Kevin S. Held, ozarksfirst.com)
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