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PrintMOUND CITY — A northwest Missouri school district is exploring the possibility of becoming the second district in the state to have a four-day school week.
Mound City superintendent Ken Eaton says the move would save the district money on fuel, food services and other maintenance costs. But he says the main benefit would be giving students a consistent schedule.
Missouri lawmakers passed legislation in 2009 that allowed districts to adopt a shortened schedule.
The St. Joseph News-Press reported Monday that the school board will discuss the possibility at its April meeting. The Mound City district currently has 275 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The Lathrop School District, with 865 students, is the only four-day school district currently in the state.
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Then, that will raise three questions for parents or caregivers of the students:
1. How will this affect the families who have both parents (or single parents) who work five days a week during regular business hours?
2. How successful has the Lathrop School District four-day week been?
3. Why would four days on and three days off be considered "consistent," considering holiday and summer vacation time off means some sort of regrouping once school reconvenes?
For the working poor with younger kids, this would quite likely be untenable.
With rising obesity rates in our children a problem and the less activity to be involved in by cutting a day of school, exercising body and mind and conditioning the body to stay active as much as possible should be the top priority for our children to stay healthy.
But how would they get this same exercise of movement/exercise without the school day schedule and the daily activities involved in making those classes and preparing for them?
Education should be the last place we cut expenses.