Avoyelles School Board adopts 4-day school week

Avoyelles Parish’s newly elected school board did not waste time keeping their promise of change to the school system.

In only its third meeting since seven new members began their term in office, the Avoyelles Parish School Board approved a 4-day school week by a 7-2 vote at its March 12 meeting.

The 4-day week will take effect at the start of the 2019-2020 school year, replacing the traditional 5-day school week.

Some school principals, who are hopeful the change will bring more certified teachers to the district, attended the meeting and expressed there support of the the shorter school week.

“I had a teacher from Pineville High School call me today and say if your four-day work week passes, give me a call,” Avoyelles High Principal Michael Rachal said.

“It would be wonderful if I had someone to walk in that was a certified teacher,” Marksville High Principal Liza Jacobs said. A certified teacher would already know how to do classroom management and "how to build relationships with kids."

Before the vote, a representative from the Caldwell Parish School District -- which currently operates under a 4-day week -- told the board that district made the change 11 years ago and experienced rising performance scores with the 4-day week.

Some board members said more time is needed to study the issue before voting on it.

APSD Superintendent Blaine Dauzat was in favor of the change, having worked in Caldwell Parish when that school system was changing to a 4-day week.

“I have been told by board members that there is a lot of concern by parents -- and look, we understand,” Dauzat said. “We understand that your kid is going to get home an hour later than he is now. Maybe we can look at some bus routes like the visitors at Caldwell Parish told us and trim that a little.”

The pay rate for teachers in Avoyelles is lower than the state average, and offering the short work week is expected to offer an incentive that other neighboring parishes do not offer.

“We have to think outside the box when it comes to stuff like this,” Board Member Rickey Adams said. “I think this will do it. They can start planning now to make sure it is good to go when the school year starts.”

The audience at the board meeting, which included mostly teachers, principals and Central Office staff members, applauded when the measure was approved.

Board members Chris LaCour and Stanley Celestine Jr. voted against the change. LaCour is one of two "old" members while Celestine is one of seven new members elected to the board this past fall.

“We are moving a lot more kids around, so I think the board, in my opinion, needs to hold off making any big decisions on this now until we iron out some of these details,” LaCour said.
 
Celestine said he had expected to hear a presentation from the Caldwell Parish representative and to vote on a time frame to study the proposal for a future decision.

“We should have been more open and transparent that we were going to vote on the issue Tuesday night,” Celestine said. “My biggest issue was not against the teachers or the idea of a 4-day week, but the timing implementation. I had, parents had, even some staff still had questions and were curious about the 4-day week.”

Dauzat and board members had recently conducted online polls and spoken with concerned parents, teachers and others before reaching the decision.

After the meeting, Dauzat was upbeat about the decision saying, “We have a positive vibe right now in our school system."

This is not the first time the public school system has had a 4-day week. In 2006 a 4-day week was put in place with a fluctuating day off during the week. The district went back to the 5-day week the next school year after parents complained they could not coordinate their schedules with no set day off each week.

Many of the seven new members campaigned on promises to change the school system, which has struggled with funding for its operations. A teacher shortage, due at least in part to lower salaries, is a major problem. Declining enrollment, which effects state funding, is also an idenitified problem.

"Tuesday's vote proves they plan to deliver on their promise,” Dauzat noted.