Blaine School Board began discussing whether Blaine High School and Blaine Middle School should reduce the number of classes per day from seven to six.
Blaine High School Principal Beth Eide presented survey findings to the school board that a small committee of educators sent to 47 high school and middle school teachers.
They overwhelmingly supported the six-period day, at 74.5%, while 17% didn’t have a preference and 8.5% preferred seven periods.
About 35% of staff didn’t fill out the survey, Eide added.
“This has been an ongoing discussion probably since the dawn of age,” Eide said during the board meeting on Monday. “I think this is huge for the staff and for that we can actually have this conversation and really talk about all of the sides.”
The schools had six periods prior to COVID-19, and then switched to seven periods during the 2021-22 school year.
One of the biggest concerns that came up during the school board meeting was whether taking away one class would reduce the number of electives the school district offered — something district representatives said they were trying to increase.
Teachers who supported six-period days said the schedule increased instructional time by 10 minutes in each class, reduced the number of classes students needed to manage and improved teachers’ workloads.
The four staff members who preferred staying with seven periods cited more credits and elective options for students, staffing stability and shorter classes they believed better engaged students.
Eide said the change would require a full year to plan, meaning if the board decided to implement six-period days, the earliest start to the new class schedule would be the 2027-28 school year. If approved, school start and end times would not change.
Board Director Ryan Swinburnson said he wanted to continue discussions this summer and ensure all middle and high school staff were aware of the discussion. Swinburnson added he wanted to hear from the staff who didn’t fill out the survey.
Superintendent Dan Chaplik said he wanted to ensure the change was aligned with the district’s vision.
“There are ramifications for decisions we make,” Chaplik said. “We need to answer some questions about, ‘If we do this, what is the impact?’”
