West Glacier school: Four-day week is proposed

District also may add junior high

School officials are proposing radical changes at West Glacier Elementary beginning next fall.

The school staff and board of trustees are proposing adding a junior-high program and implementing a four-day school week for the 2009-10 school year. Proponents say the changes will make the school more fiscally sound without creating an additional burden for taxpayers.

West Glacier currently "outsources' its seventh- and eighth-graders to the Columbia Falls School District, Principal Cortni King said. Because Columbia Falls Junior High School houses students in sixth through eighth grades, most West Glacier sixth-graders opt to go to the junior high as well.

Keeping middle-school students at West Glacier would increase the school's enrollment, which would increase the funding the district receives from the state. West Glacier also would receive the base rate that the state Office of Public Instruction offers middle-school programs, King said.

Middle-school students would benefit by staying at West Glacier, she added. With Glacier National Park in the school's back yard, students would reap benefits in their science and physical-education programs.

Middle-schoolers would operate on a modified block schedule throughout the proposed four-day week. The master schedule is not yet finalized, King said, but the change would add about 70 minutes to the school day.

West Glacier is uniquely suited for a four-day school week, she said.

Many students' parents are seasonal employees, so particularly during the school year, they might welcome an additional day to spend with their children. Fridays off also would help students who are involved in extracurricular activities that require them to travel.

Attending school for four days would result in nominal savings through energy efficiency, King said. It also would slightly decrease the district's classified staff budget; if school is only open four days a week, it only has to be cleaned four days a week.

About 20 Montana schools already operate on four-day schedules. The Arlee School District voted earlier this month to join those schools beginning next fall.

The West Glacier school board is scheduled to vote on the proposed changes at its regular meeting April 21. Before they vote, trustees and school officials want to hear from the West Glacier community.

The district is hosting two informational meetings and public forums to provide details about the proposed changes and to answer questions from the community. The first meeting is at the school at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The second meeting will be April 16 at 5:30 p.m.

For further information, call King at 888-5312.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com