Trustees also vote down proposal to start junior high

Starting next fall, students and staff at West Glacier School will have Fridays off.

The West Glacier board of trustees voted 2 to 1 to implement a four-day school week beginning next fall, Principal Cortni King said in an e-mail to the Inter Lake.

The decision is a reversal of an April 21 vote, when the board voted against the proposal 2 to 1. At that time, trustees said they wanted more information about districts that may have gone back to a five-day school week after trying a four-day week.

West Glacier originally began considering a four-day week as a possible way to save money, but actual savings would be negligible.

The district could save about $700 in utilities and its custodial position - about 20 to 25 hours a week - would be cut by 20 percent, King said at the April meeting.

Nationwide, about 100 schools operated on a four-day week. One-fifth of those are in Montana.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, trustees voted 2 to 1 to not retain its seventh- and eighth-grade students.

The district, which currently outsources its seventh- and eighth-graders to the neighboring Columbia Falls School District, had considered starting a junior-high program. The move would have brought West Glacier additional funding from the state.

Trustees tabled the proposal at the April 21 meeting, stating they needed further information before voting. The board will not consider the proposal again at least until the 2009-2010 school year, King said.

Further details about the meeting were not available at press time.