OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The Oshkosh Area School District may repurpose two snow days as “mental health and wellness days” for staff.
According to a memo from Human Resources and other departments, the request is “as a result of the stressors occurring this year.”
“Overwhelming feelings of stress and anxiety can cause people to feel exhausted, which leads to decreased productivity. For a one-year solution, the two mental health days would allow staff to decompress and recover from burnout. This is an incentive, similar to what businesses and universities across the country are offering. The strategy is to retain exceptional employees,” the memo notes.
The proposal is to schedule Feb. 17 & 18 for these days.
The district has 5.8 days built into the schedule to allow for inclement weather, snow, and emergency days. With this, that figure would drop to 3.8 days, while still meeting the state requirement for instructional minutes.
The memo notes the “request is for this year only and not to be seen as a precedent for the future.”
Currently, the district has one scheduled student day off between Jan. 18 and March 21: a staff development day on Feb. 21.
The school board meets virtually at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
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