RATHDRUM — Families in the Lakeland Joint School District will soon be asked their opinions about a four-day school week.

Trustees on Wednesday evening directed Superintendent Lisa Arnold to gather information about transitioning to a four-day school week, which will be explored as the district faces funding losses following the failure of its $9.52 million-per-year supplemental levy.

The district will run a $7.52 million levy election in May, which, if approved, would be a loss of $2 million from the previous year's budget. If the levy is not approved, drastic reductions will need to be made to make up for the $9.52 million. According to Arnold's board agenda item request, a four-day school week could save the district between $500,000 and $1 million, and could potentially increase state funding as average daily attendance also increases.

Arnold said even if the levy passes, the district will need to find additional cost-saving measures. She said she is fairly certain Kootenai Technical Education Campus will move to four days next school year.

Post Falls School District is in its second year of a four-day week. Coeur d'Alene School District students are released early on Fridays.

It's not insurmountable, Arnold said, but the district would have to figure out what to do with Lakeland's KTEC students on day five.

"That causes us a little bit of a challenge," Arnold said.

The board's response to a four-day week was mixed.

"I don't like it," Trustee Randi Bain said. "I just really don't know what it does to the families in our district."

Trustee Bob Jones said he has no interest in a four-day week.

"All the reasons that I hear for going to a four-day week really have very little to do with what's good for kids," he said.

He asked what parents with small children would do with their kids without school in session.

"They don't have a lot of day care service available in the school district, so that's going to be an issue for parents," he said, adding that a four-day school week "creates more problems than it cures."

Chair Michelle Thompson said when the board previously surveyed the public about a four-day school week, results came back in a near-50-50 split.

"Parents were in support and staff was not," she said.

She said it's her understanding Post Falls communities have adapted quite well.

"I don't know that that's the right answer, but from parents that I work with, everybody's just adapted to it," she said. "It is a transition. Nobody likes change at all, ever."

Jones argued that Lakeland's district is much more spread out than Post Falls. 

Chief Financial Officer Jessica Grantham said 76 school districts in Idaho are now on four-day weeks.

Arnold said in examining student achievement scores, results only slightly vary.

"Actually, Post Falls last year outscored us for the first time in a long time," she said, "but they spent a lot of time preparing their instructional calendars."

Thompson said it's favorable for the board to show the community it's willing to look at ways to reduce costs to the district, especially as it tries to get a levy passed.

"I don't know how the community is going to feel about a four-day school week," she said. "It was a few years ago that we surveyed, so attitudes could have shifted."

The next regular board meeting will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 19.