JEROME, Idaho — Dozens of Jerome School District teachers called out or took a personal day Monday to protest a recent school board decision to keep classes at five days a week and not move to four days.
About 90 out of Jerome School District's 250 teachers did not work, forcing the school district to close, Superintendent Pat Charlton said. The school board made the decision last week.
Charlton said they have been looking at potentially moving to a four-day week for the last several years to help with teacher burnout and boost morale.
"After looking at the issue and having several community sessions to listen about what people thought, the board was really in kind of a no-win position," he said. "There were quite a few people who were in favor of the four-day week, but also, especially towards the end of December, and in January, a number of people came forward and said this probably isn't a good fit for our community."
Initially, Charlton said he supported the 4-day week but ended up recommending the board stick with five days.
"There were concerns that going on the four day might be difficult for our most vulnerable populations, students who might have food insecurity, families who would have a difficult time finding childcare, special education students," he said.
The Jerome Education Association called Monday's protest "understandable" in a statement sent to KTVB.
"This is an organic protest that reflects deep frustration for administration's lack of consideration for educators' expert professional perspective for the education offered to Jerome students and the impact that those decisions have on the educators themselves," an association spokesperson said.
Parent Ben Reed agrees with the board's decision, although he said teachers should have been given more heads up.
"Due to the social issues ... our socio-economic problems in the area, the disadvantage that certain demographics face, it is the best answer to what we can do as a community," he said.
The district plans on having school on Tuesday. Charlton said they will likely schedule more listening sessions. They also plan on looking at the calendar and potentially allotting more days toward professional development.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.