Four-Day School Weeks On The Way?

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 23, 2010 5:20PM

In an effort to cut costs, some schools may be headed towards four day school weeks. A proposal that would allow school boards to set four-day school weeks was approved yesterday by the State House and now heads to the State Senate. Students would maintain the same number of hours, so they would either face longer school days or shorter vacations. The full bill is viewable here.

The move would allegedly save money on fuel costs for buses as well as utility costs for schools. We're no mathemagicians, but if students are still in school for the same number of hours, how does that cut utility costs, especially if the school year is extended into the summer months when air conditioners would run more often? Not to mention what kind of arrangements parents who work during school hours would have to make.