Southern Boone community hears from administrators, teachers of four-day week districts at presentation
Southern Boone School District administrators provided new details and information about the possibility of adopting a four-day school week at a presentation for the community on Oct. 9.
Over 70 parents, staff, and community members attended the informational presentation at Southern Boone Middle School. Superintendent Tim Roth gave a 30-minute presentation with data and information to answer questions submitted by the community beforehand.
Roth said the district is considering the change to “improve teacher recruitment and retention to help provide a quality learning environment for students.”
“Surveys, committee meetings, district administration meetings, monthly school board updates and community presentations are ongoing,” as the district has not yet made a decision, Roth said.
Following the presentation, five administrators from nearby school districts operating on a four-day school week calendar spoke on a panel to answer questions from moderator Jacob Watson, assistant superintendent for Southern Boone.
Present were Steve Combs, superintendent of Harrisburg School District, Ryan Marriot, principal at Versailles High School, Melissa “Missy” Marriot, principal at Versailles Middle School, Mark Garcia, a teacher from Hallsville School District, and Angela Maseman, Hallsville parent and former director of special services for the district.
Revenue limitations, national teacher shortage
According to the presentation, the Southern Boone School District relies on local revenue — including property taxes — for more than half its operating budget. State aid, calculated by the foundation formula, and other state revenue accounts for about 44% of revenue for the district.
The State Adequacy Target, or foundation formula, has increased 17% since 2005, while inflation has grown 65%.
The Missouri Independent reported in June that “superintendents have been asking for a formula that responds to inflation for years, arguing lawmakers ‘manipulated’ the formula to keep funding flat.”
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Missouri ranks last in the nation with the lowest portion of state aid in its public-school funding. Just 30% of Missouri public school revenue comes from state sources, compared to the national average of 46%. Neighboring states, Kansas, Iowa, Tennessee, and Arkansas, all rank above the national average.
In addition, Missouri is seventh in the nation for highest reliance on property tax revenue for funding public schools. On average, local property taxes comprised 47% of total school district revenue compared to the national average of 36%.
Gov. Mike Kehoe created a task force in June to review the funding model and provide a report by Dec. 1, according to the Missouri Department of Secondary Education. Halle Herbert, the governor’s incoming policy director, told the group at its first meeting that Kehoe seeks funding “consistent with what is provided in the state fiscal year 2025 budget,” meaning at or below its current expenditures.
Missouri ranks at or near the bottom nationally for both starting and average teacher pay, and amidst facing a national teacher shortage and state budget limitations, semi-rural and rural school districts are struggling to fully staff their schools with– and retain– certified, quality and experienced teachers.
Four-day school weeks are the unorthodox option many districts are turning to for a solution to a problem they have little control over.
Southern Boone is “surrounded by larger school districts with stronger tax bases from commercial businesses,” Roth said.
Missouri ranks at or near the bottom nationally for both starting and average teacher pay, and amidst facing a national teacher shortage and state budget limitations, semi-rural and rural school districts are struggling to fully staff their schools with– and retain– certified, quality and experienced teachers.
Four-day school weeks are the unorthodox option many districts are turning to for a solution to a problem they have little control over.
Southern Boone is “surrounded by larger school districts with stronger tax bases from commercial businesses,” Roth said.
These neighboring districts, namely Jefferson City and Columbia, offer higher starting salaries and easy commutes for staff, creating recruitment and retention challenges.
Steven Young, who has a first-grade student at Southern Boone, said he is “impartial” to the change, as he “understands that it’s something that the school district might need to do.”
“It’s not necessarily the school’s fault that Missouri is last in funding in the entire country, which is pretty ridiculous,” Young said.
“I think the people responsible for that are the ones that people really need to direct their ire toward.”
Teacher hiring and retention
The district presentation stated that a four-day school week would give the district “a competitive edge in hiring” by increasing the number of high-quality candidates for openings, reducing burnout and improving work-life balance for current staff, and reducing teacher turnover, increasing the consistency and quality of students’ education.
Ryan Marriot, principal of Versailles High School, said he noticed a “renewed energy” in how teachers approached planning and teaching after his district made the switch.
He also reminded the crowd that, as much as they all loved having the weekend to spend time with their families, teachers love to do the same. He said teachers could enjoy their weekend in its entirety once they had Mondays to plan and prepare, rather than attempting to balance planning and quality time with loved ones.
Garcia, a Hallsville teacher, said he loves getting involved at the schools he teaches at, including coaching, sponsoring clubs, and being on committees. With the four-day school week at Hallsville, he said he can “do all those things and not feel overwhelmed.”
“My mental health feels fantastic. I could do this for the rest of my career,” Garcia said.
“I see it in the classroom too,” he continued. “I think the kids are happier, more well adjusted. They’re more well rested coming into the school week after a three day weekend. The attendance is better, and so is the engagement level. They know when they’re in the classroom they have to be engaged, but they’ll have a lot less work to do outside of the classroom.”
Jeff Sapp has lived in Ashland for 53 years and has one eighth-grade student attending Southern Boone. He says that before the panel, he favored the change. Afterward, his support grew even stronger.
“To me, it’s a no brainer,” he said.
“I think this is the best thing for the students, for the parents, for the teachers,” Sapp said. “The way I look at it, if the teachers are going to be more willing to come here and teach, and be happier, they’re gonna do a better job. And I think that in itself would get the kids more engaged.”
The district stated that “qualified and experienced teachers provide deeper instruction, better feedback, and more support for student growth.” Anecdotal reports from Missouri and Arkansas school districts operating on a four-day week claimed they observed positive impacts on their hiring pool after making the change.
Steve Combs, superintendent of Harrisburg School District, which switched to a four-day week for cost savings, said his district found improved teacher recruitment and retention was an “inadvertent” benefit of the switch.
“We started noticing that we were getting better applicants; we started getting our teachers that we got into the district to stay,” he said. “The main asset — the main thing — is teachers. You can have the best facilities, the best curriculum, the best anything, but if you don’t have the teacher talent, you might as well forget it.”
“We don’t always have the best facilities,” Combs said. “But we have great teachers and that’s been a huge, huge advantage for us.”
Missy Marriot, principal of Versailles Middle School, said she was initially against the switch.
“As a parent, I voted no,” she said. “As an administrator, I shouldn’t have done that because my kids are doing amazing. They have adjusted, I think better than I did at first.”
Concern for younger students
The district also addressed concerns shared mainly by parents and guardians regarding the impact of a four-day school week on students, including academic outcomes.
Roth cited a January 2024 DESE research study that found “switching to a 4-day week shows little evidence of meaningful positive or negative impact on student outcomes in Missouri.”
But parents at the meeting raised concern that the information and details were geared toward middle and high school students, not elementary and primary students. One parent requested more details from those with experience in primary and elementary grades, expressing concern about students that can’t stay home by themselves.
In response, Roth said, “we’ll take that feedback and see what we can do with it.”
Parent Ashley McMillan said she’s still “very conflicted,” but agrees with the parent who spoke up.
“I felt like this, like the mom said, was more focused on middle and high school. We’re not thinking about our elementary and our primaries,” McMillan said.
She also noted that she was disappointed there was no opportunity for parents to ask live questions.
What a four-day week would look like
The district provided a firm idea of what changes would be made to the district calendar for a four-day school week.
The 2026-2027 school year would begin at the normal time but end on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend.
Mondays would be the “off-day,” to best align with holidays. One Monday each month would be reserved for teacher professional development, such as mandated training or team meetings.
Each day would be 35 minutes longer, and school would be in session from 7:50 a.m. to 3:25 p.m..
Early dismissal on Wednesdays would be eliminated, and contract times would be extended in the morning and afternoon to accommodate a longer school day.
Missouri public schools must provide a minimum of 1,044 hours of student instruction each year, and the longer school day ensures students will receive the same number of instructional hours.
The presentation also addressed questions and concerns from teachers and staff about loss of pay, benefits, or raises as a result of the change.
The district said it would adjust salary schedules “to protect school district employees’ earnings,” and that “no major changes are expected to employee benefits or PTO if the district were to switch to a four-day school week.”
At a school board meeting on Monday, Roth reiterated that the change to a four-day school week would not replace step or annual raises, a concern raised by teachers, according to Katlyn Sapp, an art teacher and representative for the Community Teacher Association.
Building principals will meet this week with district leaders to address remaining staff questions. They will follow up with an email to staff with updates and additional information.
Additional details
The district also surveyed the 10 local licensed childcare providers in Ashland and Hartsburg to gather more information about child care concerns.
Three providers said they would “possibly” consider expanding to accommodate more students. Y-Care at the YMCA said it is already planning to provide 32 additional spots in 2026 and “stands ready to support families and the district.”
In addition, a new day care provider, Momentum Kids Club, opened in August and has more than 40 openings.
Child care providers also indicated in the survey that attendance “drops” for days off from school, though capacity exists for more “if staffing allows.”
The Southern Boone Buddy Pack program currently serves 141 students to provide students facing food insecurity with enough food to cover a two-day weekend. Participating families also receive vouchers for Moser’s grocery store during the school year and every other week during the summer, as well as extra food during extended weekends and breaks.
The district estimated it would cost an additional $13,000 yearly to provide four to five more days’ worth of food, and the program already relies on “community fundraising and donations to meet expanded demand.” Roth highlighted a potential opportunity to expand the program and start a School Market, an “in-school pantry supporting entire families with choice-based selection” to directly address weekends and non-school days.
For special education services, there are two options for IEP students: to reduce their special education minutes to keep placement percentages the same, or to keep their minutes the same, meaning fewer minutes in general education classes.
The presentation also stated that although speech, occupational and physical therapy services would remain the same, additional staff may be required to meet evaluation and compliance timelines, such as two full-time teachers for the gifted program.
Athletics and activities would be minimally impacted, with high school activities free to start after 3:45 p.m. and middle school activities after 5:00 p.m. on contracted Mondays, and additional flexibility on non-contracted days.
Regular Monday schedules for games would continue, and protocols for missed class time would remain unchanged. At the recommendation of another district, advisory classes may be moved to the end of the day to “reduce lost core class time” for traveling athletes.
The next meeting of the Four-Day School Week Committee will be on Nov. 3, followed by an update and discussion with the Board of Education on Nov. 16.
The board will vote on switching to a four-day week at its regular meeting on Dec. 15.
