Education Law

Four-day school week remains popular conversation topic as schools cut costs

Despite the anticipation of new federal stimulus funding, school districts across the country continue to make adjustments to save costs. According to an article in todays’ edition of USA Today, districts are considering  altering their schedules to respond to shrinking state and local resources.

Reggie Felton, director of NSBA’s director of federal relations, said in the article that hunderds of school districts are considering modifying their schedules to cut costs but still meet their state’s requirements on numbers of school days. For example, the Bisbee school district in Arizona is closing some schools every Friday for the next two school years; and schools in Lucie County, Florida, have staggered start times for schools to save $2 million in transportation, the article cited.

Although school districts expect to receive federal stimulus money, which will help bridge state budget gaps and fund major education programs, many are uncertain as to how much they will get. In addition, school leaders have much to consider when using these stimulus funds, which will be considered a one-time infusion over the next two years. Many school districts do not want to use the funds to start new programs or to hire more teachers now because they will not be able to sustain these new expenses over time.

While altering school day schedules could be a creative way to save costs, NSBA believes that student achievement should always be the bottom line and that decisions should be made at the district level with involvement of the communities, see previous BoardBuzz posts here .

For more information on the stimulus and how it will affect your district, visit NSBA’s Economic Stimulus Resource Center.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on March 24, 2009 (boomark / email).