The Onalaska School District will begin its first four-day school week next month in a shift district leaders hope will lower costs, improve staff retention and reduce burnout.
Onalaska joins Pe Ell as Lewis County school districts that now operate on the four-day week. Pe Ell made its transition prior to the 2019-2020 school year.
To be eligible for the modified schedule, districts must apply for an economy and efficiency waiver with the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).
According to OSPI, the waiver is available to a maximum of 30 school districts under 1,000 students, with two of those reserved for districts with less than 150 students.
Onalaska School District Superintendent Brenda Padgett said the district had considered making the change over the past couple years before applying with OSPI in April.
To explore the idea, the district first created a committee made up of school board members and staff and participated in a number of community forums and dinners.
“Because it was not something that we wanted to move forward with if it was going to cause a lot of issues,” Padgett said.
A district survey sent to staff, students, family and community members revealed that over 80% of the 484 respondents were in favor of the four-day week.
The question became whether to close the district on Mondays or Fridays.
According to the spring survey, about 52% of respondents preferred Friday, while 48% preferred Monday. Padgett said the split was a “little too close,” so the district looked at absence rates for students and staff and found that both were highest on Fridays.
Not only that, the district found it had the hardest time finding substitutes to fill Friday openings. The data led to the district choosing a Monday-through-Thursday schedule.
After gaining OSPI approval in May, the district began working with various unions to determine the best schedules for its employees.
“We knew that we couldn't significantly impact the salaries of our staff, because then we end up losing staff, or it's detrimental to the entire town, essentially, because these are the driving wage in this town,” Padgett said.
The four-day week applies specifically to students, teachers and classified staff, including those within the food service, transportation and building secretary departments. The superintendent will continue to work Monday through Friday, as will custodians and maintenance workers.
Other administrators and full-calendar employees will also likely come in on Fridays, Padgett said, but will benefit from the more flexible schedule.
Onalaska School District Board Chair Jim Ball said the change to a four-day week could effectively boost “actual instructional time” for students by slightly increasing the length of the regular school day and removing what was once a half-day on Wednesday.
“They're really not getting a lot of learning in, especially when you talk about high school kids,” Ball said of the past early-release days. “They're only going for 30 minutes and they're switching classes.”
As part of its new schedule, the district will offer an “enrichment day” one Friday every month. Padgett said the optional half-day will allow high school students more time to focus on clubs or special projects. She hopes it will help promote school spirit, too.
“Hopefully we can bring back some of that excitement on those enrichment Fridays,” Padgett said.
The district will use the optional half-day to help elementary and middle school students who may need more individualized help in certain subjects. The second half of the day will be devoted to staff professional development (PD) and meetings.
“And then in some cases, there will be an additional Friday where staff will work in that month for more extensive PD, because that was another thing that we didn't have a lot of time for in the conventional calendar was meeting with staff without impacting our budget even more,” Padgett said.
The sports schedule will remain as in previous years, Padgett said. In the past, the district faced a shortage of bus drivers on Friday game days because many were on their regular after-school routes. The district had little choice other than schedule around the issue.
“So this will kind of help that as far as our travel and being able to accommodate those things,” Padgett said.
The superintendent said the district is also interested in taking advantage of the four-day week by hosting community tailgates prior to Friday games.
Padgett noted the community’s past interest in exploring the four-day week, especially after the district suffered two educational programs and operations (EP&O) levy failures in 2025.
The district passed its latest levy in February at a reduced request of $0.95 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
According to the district’s website, the four-day school week shows the district is committed to “seeking more ways to operate more efficiently while maintaining programs and increasing positive student outcomes.”
The district expects to see cost reductions for budget items such as substitutes, food, transportation, fuel and other utilities, along with better recruitment and retention of its staff.
Despite the positives, Padgett acknowledged the potential scheduling challenge some parents will face, particularly when it comes to providing daycare for their children on Fridays.
Padgett said possible solutions include older students earning income by babysitting younger students, or local churches starting daycare programs. She added that the district is open to entering into a facility-use agreement for one of its buildings to host such a program.
One less school day also means one more day without school meals. Padgett said the district is working with local entities to address the situation.
The superintendent said one of her “main drivers” for pursuing the change to a four-day week was the desire for a better quality of life for the district’s staff and families.
“There is real burnout out there happening in education, and so we hope that this will help that,” Padgett said. “And then for families, you know, one less day that they are in the grind of running, packing lunches, dropping off students, figuring out all their schedules.”
Ball likewise said he hopes the change will boost morale across the district.
“I think having a Friday off — with all the technological advances we've had — I think that four-day school week is almost overdue, really, because there's so much stuff you can get done in such a little amount of time now,” Ball said.
The Onalaska School District school year begins Aug. 24.
To learn more about the four-day week, visit: https://www.onysd.wednet.edu/page/four-day-school-week.
