Fox C-6 district debates 4-day school week
ARNOLD, Mo. – The Fox C-6 School District in Jefferson County could become the second largest district in Missouri to go to a 4-day school week.
The district is considering the idea and holding a series of public meetings to talk about the issue. The first one was held Monday night at the Fox C-6 Service Center off Jeffco Boulevard in Arnold. District officials are calling the meetings ‘community conversations.’
Those at Monday night’s meeting heard from, among others, Dr. Jon Turner. He’s a professor at Missouri State University who researches the impact of 4-day school weeks.
Fox C-6 Superintendent Paul Fregeau says the district is looking into a 4-day week to help address budget issues. He says the district is losing students and pandemic funds are running out. Parents at the meeting wrote down long lists of concerns they have with the potential switch. Fregeau shared in the past that Fox might consider going to a 4-day week to save money if district voters did not approve a tax levy increase last August.
That measure failed.
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Fregeau told FOX 2 that switching to a 4-day week across the district could cut up to $3 million in budget costs.
“It’s the mileage on your vehicles, the diesel that you use,” Fregeau said. “Wear and tear on your buses; you know it’s 20% less. Fewer subs, fewer absences, and PE time can be on Mondays, so we’re not pulling people out of class during the week. Those are some primary savings.”
We spoke with a student in the district who isn’t sold on the 4-day-a-week idea.
“I’m not sure what the benefit of 4-day weeks would be,” student Kiera Hunter expressed. “Other than to make some of the students happy, honestly, when it comes to something like that, getting the right education is a little more important.”
Next week, at the second community meeting, the Independence School District Superintendent will speak.
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Independence is the largest school district in Missouri so far to go to a 4-day schedule. It’s understood that 168 districts in Missouri have gone to four day weeks. That’s about a third of the state’s total districts.
FOX 2’s partners at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Crystal City, Grandview, and Sunrise districts in Jefferson County are on a 4-day-a-week schedule. Warren County schools made the switch in 2019.
The second public meeting will also be held at the service center on the evening of March 6.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.
