The Independence Public School District board has approved a measure that allows it to offer a four- instead of five-day school week next year but one board member is strongly opposed to the scheduling change.
“Now you have all of these children who are out of school on a Monday who are being left home with the neighbor who's kind of questionable or the uncle who's not trustworthy or the spouse who is being accused of this or that,” said Anthony Mondaine, a school board member.
The board voted 6-1 on Tuesday in favor of the new model with Mondaine the lone objector.
“I wanted to have the constituent’s response for input, and that was voted down unanimously," he said. "No one wanted a survey from the community, from the students, the staff, and the parents. It's just unbelievable to me that we would make such a great change and not include their voices.”
A four-day school week is a growing trend in Missouri and nationwide as a way to attract and retain teachers, according to media reports, but Mondaine said the shift could potentially negatively impact support staff as well as students who depend on the public school system for breakfast and lunch.
“My concern is for support staff, students and families altogether,” he said. “For example, you have a secretary who will now work four days a week who will not earn 40 hours per week like you normally would, and who will now miss 2.5 hours of work a day.”
Some 43% of public school students in Missouri are eligible for free lunch, according to Public School Review. State data shows nearly 14,000 students or more than 70% in the Independence Public School District financially fall under the free or reduced lunch category.
“You're talking about potentially taking away two meals from thousands of kids,” Mondaine told the St. Louis Record. “We may still provide the food but I'm assuming that a large portion of that 70% of kids are riding the bus so they're depending on that transportation to give them an education and a warm meal. All of that will now be questionable. It's not that the four-day week cannot render good results in retaining and attracting teachers.”
Mondaine, who is a pastor at Restoration Life Church, was elected to the school board in April. He is the first person of color to be elected to any public office in Independence. Mondaine, who attended Independence Public School District schools as a child, wanted Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) to weigh in before the board voted.
"CAP does great work in our community," Mondaine added. "We could have asked for a pulse on child abuse in this community. How many families in CAP who are impacted by child abuse attend school in this school district? We could have asked CAP to help us make the best decision that we can. That didn't happen."