Hagerman to join list of four-day schools

While some rural school districts have adopted a four-day schedule in hopes of saving money, the Hagerman School District is taking a different approach.

The Magic Valley school district is hoping the new calendar will help reverse an enrollment decline.

“The main reason it came about was in an effort to compete with neighboring school districts for teachers and kids,” school board chairman Karl Emerson told Julie Wootton of the Times-News in Twin Falls.

Several school districts in the Magic Valley have already adoted a four-day calendar.

Hagerman’s enrollment dropped from 359 to 348 this school year. It isn’t entirely clear why Hagerman is losing enrollment, Emerson told Wootton, but the loss of 11 students equates to a $40,000 reduction in state funding.

In 2014-15, 42 of Idaho’s 115 school districts used a four-day calendar, along with 10 charter schools. (Click here to download the list and review the trends.)

 

 

Kevin Richert

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 30 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevinRichert. He can be reached at [email protected]

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