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Mountain Iron-Buhl latest Northern MN school to move to 4-day week

Mountain Iron-Buhl High School in Mountain Iron on May 13, 2024.
Megan Buffington
/
KAXE
Mountain Iron-Buhl High School in Mountain Iron on May 13, 2024.

The School Board approved the change on Jan. 27, 2025. The new schedule will begin next year if the Department of Education approves the district's application.

MOUNTAIN IRON — The Mountain Iron-Buhl School Board unanimously approved moving to a four-day school week at its meeting Monday, Jan. 27.

If the district’s application is approved by the state Department of Education, students will have class 7:55 to 3:30 Monday through Thursday starting next year. School will start the first week of September and end the last week of May.

The district is still working to address concerns raised in a community survey like child care, impacts on athletics and providing meals and other student support.

But community members also noted a number of benefits, including more free time, less burnout and saving the district money.

Board member Ann Marie Lubovich acknowledged that this change won’t be perfect for everyone, but the district isn’t just going to make a decision and not look back.

“We’re going to be continuing to monitor it, and I hope that the staff and the teachers will feel that the dialogue's going to stay open," she said. "If you have some issues, if you see some things, that that’s coming back to us, and we’re continuing to monitor it.”

Mountain Iron-Buhl is the second Northern Minnesota school district to move to a 4-day week after the Department of Education reopened flexible learning applications last spring. Carlton began 4-day weeks this school year.

Blackduck and Lake Superior made the change over a decade ago.

Mountain Iron-Buhl shares a superintendent with St. Louis County Schools, which also explored moving to a 4-day week. St. Louis County decided to delay its decision a year to develop a school-age child care program.

Megan Buffington joined the KAXE newsroom in 2024 after graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Originally from Pequot Lakes, she is passionate about educating and empowering communities through local reporting.