CHATTOOGA COUNTY, Ga. — A north Georgia school district that has been on a four-day week for nearly a decade is making the big switch back to a five-day week for the 2019 - 20 school year.
Chattooga County cut back to a four-day school week in 2010 to save money. Students didn't have to go to school on Monday.
Starting August 1, students in the district will go to school Monday through Friday.
The school board voted 4-1 in January to abandon the Tuesday through Friday schedule after more than a decade of implementing it.
Students at Chattooga High School walked out of school in protest earlier this year, when the board of education changed the school calendar from four days to five a week, after nearly a decade.
“I was pretty well content with a four-day. It seemed to be working well with our school district,” parent Eddy Willingham said.
Under the four-day week, students had Mondays off and spent longer hours in class.
It also saved the district millions of dollars in operating costs.
“You're heating and cooling the building one less day, you're running buses one less day, you're fixing lunches one less day,” retired educator David Rogers said.
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The newly elected school board voted to move back to five days.
“Who do any of you think you are, making a decision of this magnitude?” former student Bodie Brooks said.
Board members cited poor test scores and said students needed to spend an extra day in class.
“The last several years the test scores have still been at bottom and I’m trying to find a way to get more structure for those kids,” school board member Brad Hayes said.
Every year, the school board will hold a public hearing to see if the five-day calendar is working in the best interest of the students.
We're asking you if you think shorter or longer school weeks are better for students' grades. VOTE HERE NOW.
Cox Media Group
