Board Considering 4 Day Week for Schools

The School Board is working on funding for the District. There is good information in the most recent issue of “Good News” 

“Benefits for the School in General:There are savings on utility bills, substitute teacher pay, school buses and building wear and tear. School days missed due to inclement weather can be more easily made up.”

There’s no doubt that this change will save money. From a financial standpoint it seems like a great idea. Fewer miles on buses, fewer meals to prepare, less days to keep the buildings warmer, etc. As far as how students cope with a slightly extended day, there are many studies that say there is really no net effect on student outcomes.

But, consider some other people. Some of the savings come from reducing paychecks. Many hourly staff will see reduced hours. Bus drivers, kitchen employees and custodial staff come to mind right away. What about office staff? 4 day weeks for them too? Most of the school nursing staff are hourly employees. Reducing to a 4 day week will cause some pain for these folks.

What about teaching and administrative staff? As I understand it, the school day will be extended by about 35 minutes. That is 2 hours and 20 minutes over 4 days. With the 5th day being cut, that represents a workweek for teaching staff that is perhaps 6 hours shorter. That’s a guess, but you get the point. I know the teachers agreed to a 2 year wage freeze, something that wasn’t easy for them either. Will the District ask for other concessions from the teachers? I would bet that there are many hourly employees who would love to have the option of agreeing to a 2 year wage freeze if they could continue to be paid for same number of hours whether they work them or not.

I don’t have any magical answers to the challenges of school finance. I am merely pointing out that there are many more things to consider than first meet the eye.

Share with Friends

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Save to Browser Favorites / Bookmarks

Ask backflip blinklist BlogBookmark Bloglines BlogMarks Blogsvine BuddyMarks BUMPzee! CiteULike co.mments Connotea del.icio.us

Digg diigo DotNetKicks DropJack dzone Facebook Fark Faves Feed Me Links Friendsite folkd.com Furl Google

Hugg Jamespot Jeqq Kaboodle kirtsy linkaGoGo LinkedIn LinksMarker Ma.gnolia Mister Wong Mixx MySpace MyWeb

Netvouz Newsvine oneview OnlyWire PlugIM Propeller Reddit Rojo Segnalo Shoutwire Simpy Slashdot Sphere

Sphinn Spurl Squidoo StumbleUpon Technorati ThisNext Twitter Webride Windows Live Worlds Movies Yahoo!

Email This to a Friend

Copy HTML: 

 If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

More »

Powered by Bookmarkify™