Thursday, May 10, 2012 | 8:40 p.m.
The Clark County School Board unanimously approved on Thursday a four-day school week for Goodsprings Elementary School and Sandy Valley Schools.
The rural schools are located about 50 miles southwest of Las Vegas and face unique issues, said Principal Jerry Cornell. For example, students often missed instructional time to travel for athletic competitions held on Friday nights and weekends, he said.
The four-day school week will eliminate Fridays, but not affect instructional time for the nearly 300 students served by the schools. The school days during the rest of the week will be extended so there would be no loss of class time and no loss of hours or wages for the 61 staff members serving the schools, officials said.
The school day will begin at 7:55 a.m. and end at 3:28 p.m.; secondary students will have seven 58-minute periods. There will be two nutrition breaks and a lunch period during the day.
The four-day week allows the schools to departmentalize science, math, reading and writing curricula, officials said. It also allows students to take more credits during a semester. Schools have the option to open Fridays for accelerated courses, credit-retrieval programs and tutoring sessions.
Top School District officials were skeptical about the proposal, but entertained it for a two-year pilot program.
Seven of the state's 17 school districts have a similar four-day schedule. Some districts have gone to a shortened school week due to budget cuts, but this proposal was approved in Clark County to accommodate the wishes of the Goodsprings and Sandy Valley communities, who overwhelmingly supported it in phone conversations, parent surveys and community meetings, said School Board member Carolyn Edwards.
The proposal is expected to reduce teacher absenteeism because they can schedule doctor’s appointments and the like on Fridays, and allows working students to help support their families, Edwards added.
Although the School District contends it’s within its right to change the work schedule, the support staff union complained Thursday night that the changes were made unilaterally without collective bargaining input from the union.
John Carr, the president of the Education Support Employees Association, said it didn’t make sense for the district to cram five days of schoolwork into four days and burn students out. Further, by giving students the Friday off, they might get into mischief, he said.
Edward Goldman, the district’s chief contract negotiator, said because there is no loss in hours or wages, the district has the right to implement a four-day school week. The three bus drivers who won’t have bus routes on Fridays would report to the Wallace Buss Yard for alternative work, Goldman said.
As for Carr’s other concerns, the district will evaluate the pilot program in January 2014, officials said.
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