The Kootenai School District, tucked on the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene, is the latest Idaho district to shift to a four-day school week.
But unlike many of the other 95 districts and charters now on a four-day schedule, Kootenai is not making the move to save money or retain teachers.
Instead, Superintendent Brad Baumberger said the shorter week will provide teachers more time for paperwork, planning and grading. It will also prevent learning loss for students who often miss Fridays for sports and activities.
Trustees unanimously approved the shift Tuesday after conflicting public comment.
Some parents raised concerns about what their children would do on Fridays and the lack of local childcare. Others were frustrated at the amount of information provided by the district, which first posted the proposed four-day schedule four days before the vote.
Teachers argued it’s impossible to complete all their required job duties in their daily planning time.
Several issues fueled the decision
Baumberger, who took over as superintendent last June, wondered shortly after his hiring about moving to the four-day week. Earlier this year, he discussed it with a newly elected group of trustees.
“We’ve got all these things going on and they all interfere with class time,” Baumberger said.
Sports, college visits, touring area manufacturing facilities to learn about career opportunities and extracurricular activities take many students out of class, typically for most of a school day due to the district’s remote location.
“You can’t do any of that stuff because if you do, we get nailed for our kids being absent,” Baumberger said. “We load up one bus half full, we lose 30% of our high schoolers.”
Those absences, in the district serving about 215 kids, affect the district’s average daily attendance and, therefore, state funding.
In lower grades, it’s difficult to make time for parent-teacher conferences and IEP meetings, when no one is available to cover classes. Baumberger said he routinely ends up covering a class he’s never taught before, which leads to lost learning time.
“We don’t have two of anything up here,” he said, explaining why it’s hard to find backup to cover classes.
Teachers say they don’t have enough prep time to properly plan lessons, especially for students who receive special education services.
To address this under the four-day model, teachers will work two Fridays a month to plan lessons, collaborate with other teachers and meet with parents. The longer school days Monday through Thursday will include What I Need (WIN) time, which allows paraprofessionals at elementary schools to provide individualized instruction and lets teachers review areas where students are struggling.
In middle and high school, the extra time will function like an advisory period, where students can make up tests, get extra help or allow teachers to catch up after a fire drill or assembly disrupts the day.
The district doesn’t have a career-technical education building and would need to pass a bond to build one — and increase its supplemental levy to hire needed teachers. Baumberger hopes instead to network with local businesses to create internship programs for students on Fridays to fill the gap.
The move isn’t about saving money — “We’re not going to save a dime,” Baumberger said — or about teacher retention: The district has low turnover, he said.
The four-day move is ultimately about creating a better system, Baumberger said. “Our quality of education time needs to improve.”
The community remains conflicted
Tom Reinhardt, a former trustee and parent, raised concerns over the short time patrons had to review proposed four- and five-day schedule options for 2026-27.
Both were made available at an April 17 event to discuss the four-day week. The vote took place Tuesday, four days later. The proposed five-day calendar also had fewer days than the current school year, which wasn’t addressed.
“These are real changes that deserve their own explanation, not just a calendar to compare them against,” Reinhardt said.
WIN time was not clearly defined for elementary students, Reinhardt added. A new bus schedule also wasn’t presented to the public.
Reinhardt created a website outlining the options and asking questions. He also raised concerns over the long day for young students and the lack of childcare in the community on Fridays.
Reinhardt acknowledged benefits of a four-day school week but didn’t feel the process was thorough enough.
“The question is whether the board has honestly weighed them against the costs to the families least equipped to absorb those costs — and whether the community has had enough time and information to participate in that weighing,” he wrote online.
Other families expressed concerns, according to a recording of the meeting.
Ramona Bratiloveanu, who ran against longtime trustee Richard Meyer last fall, asked trustees what the rush was.
“Why are we moving forward so quickly, when the other school districts have taken their time to organize public forums, present detailed plans, and ensure their communities are fully informed?” she said.
The lack of information left Bratiloveanu, who has three children in the district, feeling she had more questions than answers.
But some teachers pushed back.
Tess Davis, who teaches third grade at Harrison Elementary, said she and her colleagues have just 40 minutes of prep-period time per day to plan for the eight subjects they teach.
“I think we can all agree, planning for every subject in five minutes a day is pretty difficult,” she said.
And IEP meetings, parent emails, catching up absent students, grading, tracking discipline and organizing her classroom can take up that planning time.
Fourth-grade teacher Shelley Bresnen also said teachers needed more time.
“I personally think a Friday of block time uninterrupted would make me 1,000% better as a teacher,” she said.
Tami Lowery, a paraprofessional at the elementary school, said WIN could be huge for struggling students. She said there’s often not enough time to pull students out of class for additional help, even though doing so could give them an academic advantage.
Still, Dominick Como, a parent with two kids in school, said he worried about childcare costs, especially since the area has no providers.
“While the calendar may show an 11-day difference on paper for families, it creates a recurring weekly burden nearly every Friday for the entire school year,” he said.
