Nearly a quarter of all Missouri school districts are only in session four days a week.
Independence School District will start shortened weeks next year — and the state’s education department predicts that more districts will follow suit. With nearly 1,400 students, Independence is the largest district so far to make the switch.
The law allowing four-day weeks was passed as a cost-saving measure to help schools after the recession. But the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) says the short weeks are now being used as a perk to hire and retain teachers as Missouri suffers from a large teacher shortage.
Four schools locally have made the switch to shorter weeks in Jefferson County and Warren County.
Missouri previously had the lowest starting salary for teachers in the nation, though a bill raised the minimum salary this year to $38,000 — temporarily. The state is 37th in the nation for education funding.
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