Four-day week considered by JISD
While no decision has been made, Jacksboro ISD officials are considering the possibility of going to a fourday school week.
A survey will be distributed to district staff, the community and students to gauge their interest in the issue. JISD Superintendent Brad Burnett told board members at their Monday, Nov. 14 meeting a lot of districts are looking into it, including nearby Graham. Word of what Graham was doing got onto Facebook and several Jacksboro staff members shared the post with Burnett.
“That showed me the interest is there,” Burnett said.
Getting input quickly is important as district staff will begin working on the 2023-24 calendar in January, Burnett said. While not completely against it, board members definitely wanted more input before making a decision.
Board member Travis Jonas said he was concerned about the length of the school day.
“Going 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. is a long day for a 2nd grader,” Jonas offered. “My kids already aren’t getting home until late 8-8:30 and that’s if they don’t have a game. We need to get input from both staff and parents.”
In-county school Perrin Whitt CISD began a fourday school week earlier this year. Their school day runs from 7:45 a.m. to 4:22 p.m. Burnett said for the district togetthemandatoryamount of minutes in, school would have to start around Aug. 9 to be able to end before Memorial Day and still have the “perks” such as a week off at Thanksgiving.
“Once you get something like that, you can’t give it up,” Burnett said.
Board President Martha Salmon said moving to a four-day week would not solve many issues.
“We’re not seriously considering this,” Salmon said. “It won’t solve any of our systemic issues. It doesn’t solve our (teacher) absentee problem. We all should want what’s best for our kids.”
Burnett said a typical school week would be Monday through Thursday. Some weeks, like those on a home football game, school would be held on a Friday, but have an early dismissal to ensure a traditional day could still happen.
