JEFFERSON COUNTY — The Fox School District in Arnold is looking to move to a four-day week among other cuts to address a projected $13 million budget shortfall in 2023-2024.
If it does, it would become the second-largest school district in Missouri to move to a shorter schedule because of budget and staffing issues.
“We’re approaching a serious deficit budget for next year,†Superintendent Paul Fregeau told the school board Tuesday. “We’re going to need to adjust our expenditures significantly to help mitigate this projected deficit.â€
The board approved Fregeau’s recommendation to consider “six buckets†where cuts could be made:
• Move to a four-day school week.
• Eliminate 30 staff positions totaling 5% of certified administrators and 3% of certified teachers.
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• Move tax funds from debt service to operations budget.
• Postpone purchase of new school buses and student laptops.
• Reduce school building budgets by $250,000.
• Look for ways to increase revenue.
The changes would add up to a savings of $6.2 million next year, Fregeau said. The board will also consider putting a levy increase of $1.12 per $100,000 in property values on the August ballot.
If residents of the district vote down the tax hike, the district will have to lay off more staff, cut academic and athletic programs and consider closing a school, Fregeau said.
Fox would join three other school districts in Jefferson County to adopt the four-day week, following Grandview and Sunrise in 2019 and Crystal City in 2020. Warren County schools also made the switch in 2019.
In Missouri, students have to attend school a total of 1,044 hours each year, but there is no minimum number of days. Most districts extend the school day to make up the hours.
With 10,600 students, Fox would be the second-largest district in the state to adopt the schedule. Independence, with about 14,000 students, will switch to four days next fall.
State Rep. , R-Independence, is sponsoring a bill that would require the approval of voters in a school district before it could adopt a four-day week.
Most districts including Independence have cited teacher recruitment and retention as the main driver behind the decision.
About one-quarter of Missouri’s school districts, 144 in total, are on a four-day schedule this year. Most are smaller districts in rural areas.
The move has by parents and school staff across the state, although there are lingering concerns about child care and special education. Some districts offer tutoring or other enrichment programs on the fifth day.
A study of the outcomes of the four-day week is under way at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
“It’s an in-depth issue but I would just say from my chair it gives me great pause to see the number of districts who are jumping to this as a teacher recruitment and retention strategy,†said Missouri Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven, at the January meeting of the state board of education. “If we are a state full of four-day weeks, it will no longer be a teacher recruitment and retention strategy.â€
In Fox, the decision is financially motivated by saving $1 million annually, Fregeau said. The superintendent blamed Fox’s budget woes on the state’s reliance on attendance figures for school funding. Since the start of the pandemic, the average daily attendance has declined in nearly all districts. Last year, 76% of Fox students reached a 90% attendance rate, compared with 88% in 2019 — a loss of about $5 million in revenue.
The bill is Missouri HB 784.
Updated at 12:40 p.m.