Public weighs in on four-day school week

In a series of three town hall meetings held last week throughout Franklin County, the public got a chance to ask questions and offer comments on the proposed four-day school week.

While the attendance by teachers was strong, and that of parents limited, several people spoke out against the plan, and several for it, at the town halls in Apalachicola, Lanark Village and Eastpoint.

Superintendent Steve Lanier, now entering his second term in office, has emerged as a strong proponent of presenting the idea to the school board for their ratification. Each of the five board members – Chairman Stacy Kirvin, Fonda Davis, Melonie Inzetta, Jared Mock and Pam Marshall – attended one or more of the meetings.

As he outlined in a March 24 letter to Chancellor Ted Roush, who oversees the Florida Department of Education’s Division of K-12 Public Schools, Lanier opened each town hall with an outline of the reasons for proposing the change.

“The primary driver behind this consideration is teacher recruitment and retention,” Lanier wrote. “For many years the district has faced significant challenges in attracting and retaining highly qualified educators. Over the past 15 years, we have experienced high teacher turnover, making it difficult to provide the level of consistency and quality education our students deserve.”

He told Roush, just as he did the town halls, that the district was planning “a substantial salary increase for our teachers, ranging from $7,000 to $9,000” which would raise the starting teacher salary to approximately $52,000 and bring it in line with some of the most competitive salaries in the Panhandle. 

“Given that Franklin County currently has the lowest average teacher salary in the state, we believe that offering both a competitive salary and a four-day workweek will help us fully staff our schools with high-quality educators, ultimately improving student outcomes,” Lanier said.

In addition, he has stressed the possibility of enhanced student focus and productivity, reduced teacher burnout and absenteeism, potential improvements in graduation rates and student performance, increased student enrollment and engagement in extracurricular activities and cost savings on transportation and utilities. 

In printed materials provided at the town halls, the district said only 72 percent of the district’s educators are teaching in their fields, and many are staffed with paraprofessionals and substitutes. In addition the turnover rate is at 30 percent.

Principal Danielle Rossen said the plan as now envisioned is to be closed on Fridays, and add an additional 30 to 45 minutes per school day. Franklin County Schools would begin at 7:30 a,m, and run until 3:13 p.m. in the elementary grades and until 3:20 p.m. in grades six through 12.

Apalachicola Bay Charter School Principal Elizabeth Kirvin said the school would also begin at 7:30 a.m., with classes running through 3:30 p.m.

Lanier said the school hours would meet the state’s required 1,500 instructional minutes. The printed materials provided a detailed breakdown of the mandated minutes that would be spent in classes regarding reading, physical education and recess. 

In addition, it provided summaries of research studies from New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho and Missouri, part of a collection of mainly Western states, that pointed to the successes achieved by a four-day school week.

The speakers also said the district had polled all the through its The Focus Parent Portal, an on-line system which allows parents access to their student’s information such as schedules, grades, discipline, attendance, progress monitoring, and state assessment results. The survey was also placed on the school districts’ website, which viewpoints

Both Lanier and Kirvin said that the survey found that fewer than 20 percent of the respondents were opposed to the idea.

But not all of those in attendance were convinced that this innovation would have the desired results, Flanked by Apalachicola’s Bobby Miller, a retired Apalachicola High School teacher, St. George Island businessman Walter Armistead, who has been a stalwart backer of sending his children to the Franklin County Schools, spoke out against the idea, both in Apalachicola and Eastpoint.

“I know the burden this is going to put on our local working class people,” he said.

He said he has spoken to his daughters, all excellent students growing up in Franklin County, and they have told him they don’t think this would be a great idea.

“The Nest can’t take care of all these kids and the families are going to struggle,” he said. “Now you’re telling me they have to go pay a babysitter on Fridays?.

“We don’t need to be the guinea pig for this,” Armistead said, noting that the idea to implement it on this high school level appears to be happening in the Destin area.

“They’re in the top notch section of schools in the state and we’re at the very bottom,” he said. “There’s a better resolution to this, there’s better things we could look at before we go to a four-day school week.“

He said the number one problem in the county is affordable housing for teachers, and urged the district use land to put in such housing. The school is part of Team Franklin, an initiative led by the sheriff’s office that brings local governments together to move forward on such housing for teachers and other working class people.

Krystal Shuler Hernandez spoke out in favor of the change in Apalachicola, noting that in her volunteer work at the schools she has seen first hand the stress that teachers are under and the hard work they put in to serve the needs of their students.

Stephanie Howze, who oversees the Nest program in Eastpoint and Carrabelle, said the  after school program serves around 120 students, over its target number, and has plans to expand to Apalachicola.

“We are excited about whatever the board decides, because we’re just going to continue to serve the students to the best of our ability, no matter what happens,” she said. “The Nest doesn’t have an official position. We’re here to support the students, whatever Superintendent Lanier and the school board decide.”

She said the Nest could absorb additional students on Fridays, and that the state prefers students attend all five days. Howze said the Nest would not be in line for additional; funding for the 2025-25 school year but could seek more for the following year, depending on enrollment.

On Monday, Lanier shared word that the state last week weighed in on the issue.

“While there is currently no legislative barrier that would prevent us from considering this option, I want to share with our community that the Florida Department of Education has asked us to maintain a traditional five-day school week,” he said. “Out of respect for our ongoing relationship with the department and in the interest of keeping that relationship strong and productive, it is possible that the four-day school week may not be implemented.

“However, I remain committed to examining every option that could benefit our students, teachers, and families. We will continue to listen to feedback, monitor developments, and keep you informed as we move forward together,” Lanier said. “Thank you for your continued support and engagement in helping us build the best future possible for Franklin County students.”