At a special board meeting held on Monday, December 16, 2024, at 6 p.m with all board members and Superintendent Harris present, the board voted to approve a five-day week for the 2025-26 school year that is very similar to the 2024-2025 calendar. Harris thanked all the patrons who attended the meetings to discuss the four-day week (4DW) and for the large response to the survey that was sent out.
During the discussion before the vote, Mark Johnsrud cited that he was encouraged by the discussion that Principal Nelson had with students and their concerns not only for themselves but others who would be affected by the change. He appreciated Superintendent Harris researching the change as a way to conserve money. He was, however, concerned that people thought a decision had been made to proceed with a 4DW. He stressed the importance of contacting Harris or board members about issues to discuss with them the issue and not rely wholly on social media as a reliable source. Thompson reiterated that contacting the superintendent or a board member to find out what the facts of the issues are is crucial. He stated, “Ed is doing his job,” and this was a possibility to reduce costs. Katie Priebe stated that only one person had reached out to her and that board members are available to all district patrons for information.
Superintendent Harris thanked the board for their input and also thanked the staff for their input. He stated, “The process ran as designed.” He thought the decision should be made now instead of waiting until the January meeting because he felt there was not a “critical mass” for going forward with the 4DW. He also felt it was worth the time to examine the change even though it did not come to fruition. The meeting was adjourned.
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