NEW BOSTON, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – New Boston ISD is considering moving to a four-day school week.
The topic was discussed in a community meeting on Thursday, with Superintendent Brian Bobbitt presenting two draft calendars.
“Anytime you talk about change, change can be scary, can be difficult, but our community as a whole brought some good points out and is things for us to continue thinking about and planning as we move forward through this process,” Bobbitt said.
They showed a plan where school days would generally run Monday through Thursday. The superintendent says the district is looking to find a creative solution to some of the problems the district is facing and problems that they believe will continue.
“We are facing a shortage of teachers and staff and so as time goes on there’s a trickle-down effect that continues in our rural areas across the state and so there are fewer and fewer certified educators that are moving into rural east Texas that are available to fill the job positions that we have.”
In a survey taken within the district, over 90 percent of the teachers were in favor of the change.
Kendra Paslay is a parent of five kids who all attend school in the district and says she’s all for it.
“When we had to do the online instruction as a parent trying to do the online school with my kids it was incredibly frustrating, and it made me develop another level of respect for the teachers who do this full time as a profession. I cannot do what they do I need to support them in any way I can support them.”
Some parents in the meeting were against the potential move, which Bobbitt acknowledges is among their top concerns.
“One of the main concerns for parents is childcare on Fridays, I don’t know that the Monday Friday 8 to 5 workforce is the norm anymore for the average person but there’s still a lot of people that are on that schedule.”
Bobbitt says some parents are also concerned about their children showing regression in a four-day week versus a five-day week when it comes to their academic performance.
Bobby says the district will continue to have discussions on whether they will move forward with this plan. He says there will be no pay change for teachers or staff if it goes forward.
DeKalb ISD will hold a public hearing about the idea on Monday during a board meeting.
