WILSON CREEK — The Wilson Creek School District will have classes four days a week during the 2024-25 school year. Students will attend classes Monday through Thursday, with the school day starting a few minutes earlier and ending a few minutes later.

Wilson Creek Superintendent Laura Christian said one of the reasons for the change is the need to do more with less. It’s also an incentive for teachers and other staff to come to Wilson Creek to work — and stay in the school district.

“This way we can reduce our costs and still provide our children with the education they need and deserve,” said Christian

Enrollment numbers in the district were higher before the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

“We are slowly catching up,” says Christian, but enrollment has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels.

Classes take place from Monday to Thursday, except in weeks with a Monday holiday, when children go to school from Tuesday to Friday.

“We will continue the four-day week consistently,” said Christan.

While the students have a day off school every Friday, the teachers are offered a half-day training course on one Friday a month.

Washington state law requires school districts to offer instruction at least 180 days per school year, according to a statement from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. An “exception for reasons of economy and efficiency” allows a district to reduce the number of instructional days, but districts must maintain a minimum number of instructional hours.

As a K-12 school, Wilson Creek must offer at least 1,027 hours of instruction, which Christian said fits into the four-day week. The school year will start and end at about the same time as it would with a five-day week, she said.

According to OSPI, districts with fewer than 1,000 students can apply for an economy and efficiency exemption. An exemption can be granted for up to three years.

Declining enrollment is a trend in Washington and across the country, and Wilson Creek is no exception. Despite declining enrollment, Wilson Creek is in relatively good financial shape, Christian said.

“So far, we have largely been spared from this,” she said, “mainly because our CEO is very cautious and pays attention to the bottom line. We are making great progress towards sustainability.”

Wilson Creek accepts students from other districts, and school administrators and teachers are always looking for course offerings that will attract and retain students without compromising basic education, she said.

Wilson Creek was not forced to cut teaching positions, Christian said. Two assistants gave up their jobs and one was not replaced.

Christian said the final staffing makeup will depend on the number of students in the school, which district officials won’t know until school actually starts. It also depends on the needs of the children in the school.

“If we don’t do the best for the students in the end, we might as well close our doors,” said Christian.