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Wichita Public Schools Seeking Input On Longer School Day

Nadya Faulx
/
KMUW/File photo

The Wichita Public School District is looking for feedback on the longer school days that were put into place this year.

In the face of increasing costs and flat funding from the state, the district lengthened the school day by 30 minutes. The change allowed USD 259 to make the school year 15 days shorter, saving nearly $3 million in operating costs.

Now, the district is asking for the pros and cons of keeping those changes for the upcoming school year. Officials say returning to last year’s format is a possible alternative, although doing so would require additional budget cuts be made. The district is also open to considering other unspecified solutions.

The longer day has had mixed reviews from staff, students and parents with most complaints centering on late dismissal times, which can be as late as 4:40 p.m. for some students.

The district will gather input with an online survey until the end of the day on Wednesday, March 8. The feedback will be shared with the Board of Education and district leaders as USD 259 creates next year’s school calendar.

Take the survey here.

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Follow Abigail Beckman on Twitter @AbigailKMUW.

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