PHOENIX — In a controversial 3-2 vote on Wednesday night, the Cartwright School District board voted to switch the district back to a five-day school week.
The district has been on a four-day school schedule for the last several years after COVID.
Some district leaders felt it will be more beneficial for students to go back to school five days a week to help with academics and lead to fewer absences in high school when they transition from the elementary district to the high school district that goes all five days.
The district moved its staff to a four-day schedule in 2023 and saw a higher retention rate and better hiring rate.
Of the staff that responded to the survey this school year about the potential new schedule, about 70% told the district they don’t intend to come back if the district changes back to five days. The district says 950 of more than 1,600 employees responded to the survey, with more than 660 staff members saying they wouldn’t come back. There are also operational costs to going to school for an additional day.
Watch more coverage of the decision in the video player above.
