MARSHFIELD, Mo. — A southwestern Missouri school district that struggles to fill teacher vacancies plans to go to a four-day week starting next fall.
The Springfield News-Leader reports that the Marshfield district is among at least nine in Missouri planning to switch to the shorter week in the fall, pushing the total number of districts in Missouri using the truncated schedule to a record 128 — 25% of the state's school districts.
Marshfield Superintendent Mike Henry said the change will mean hourly pay rates will rise substantially.
Marshfield has enrollment of 3,100 students, making it the second-largest district in the state to go to a four-day week.
Henry said the district has struggled to fill jobs. He noted that in 2016, the district received 313 applications for four elementary openings. Four years later, it received just 27 applications for five openings.
Missouri lawmakers granted districts the flexibility to adopt four-day weeks in the middle of an economic downturn. The Kansas City-area district Lathrop was the first to switch, in 2010.