4-Day School Weeks Might Be Coming In Illinois
State House Has Passed Bill Allowing School Districts To Set Up Shorter Weeks; Mayor Daley Has Doubts
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.

Add an entire school day to the chopping block. State lawmakers want to move financially struggling schools to four day weeks. They say it will save money, and it won't affect classroom time.

The superintendent of one local school district believes the plan could work. CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker paid them a visit.

"I think it's something we should take a look at," said Dr. Kamala Buckner, Superintendent of Thornton Township High Schools District 205.

Kids would still have to complete the same number of hours per school year, so switching to four-day school weeks would mean longer school days or shorter summer vacations.

It's an intriguing proposal because district 205 faces a $5 million deficit next year and Buckner sees a shortened week as a viable option.

"That means the heat is not on, the lights are not on, we don't have to worry about cleaning the building," Buckner said.

And when you throw the one less day a week of school bus service, it means a savings of nearly $2 million a year.

The Illinois House approved the bill, HB4886, on Monday. The bill allows school districts to operate on four-day week plans, with the approval of the state Board of Education. It would require a minimum of 880 hours of school for every student.

The bill also allows the school board to "establish experimental educational programs, with conditions."

The final vote on the bill was 81-21. It will now go to the state Senate.

State Rep. Bill Black (R-Danville) was the sponsor of the bill. He told the Chicago Tribune he proposed the idea after a school superintendent in downstate Vermilion County complained about increasing fuel costs associated with bussing rural children to school.

But Darcelle Williams, principal of Thornwood High School, said "The downside is great."

Williams doesn't like the shortened week because it would mean fewer days for team practices; students who receive free lunch would miss a day; and, since the other four days would be longer, after-school activities would start later.

"Many of our students don't leave until six. Now, if they have an extended day they're here later, then with the activities they might not be getting home until 7 p.m." said Williams.

"There are some pros and cons to it," said Johari Mackey, a junior at Thornwood.

On the positive side, Mackey thinks increasing classes from 50 to 60 or 70 minutes would give students more time to understand the lessons. She also likes the extra day off.

"It would definitely give us more time to study," she said.

"Studying for a test that's coming on Monday, that would not happen," argued Michael Daniel. "Since because that Friday that's a lax day which turns Saturday into another day where they might rest and then go to a party."

And, with most parents working weekdays, some parents and teachers also worry about teens being unsupervised and getting into trouble.

Mayor Richard M. Daley said such a plan would put "undue hardship on a lot of parents."

"Again, when you think four-day school week, what do parents do on a Friday or a Monday or a Wednesday?" Mayor Daley said. "Many of the parents are working. A single parent has to work, and so… what do they do with their child. There are so many problems on this issue. There's no quick solution. Everyone has to come together and figure this out."

Daley said lawmakers should look for other ways to save money. He suggested having state workers take unpaid furlough days, the system that has been implemented in Chicago for city workers.

On Monsters & Money in the Morning Tuesday, co-host Mike North said reducing the number of days in school would be bad for students.

"This is a bad, bad deal," North said. "Just like the sports deal, where they're trying to get rid of the sports programs – where do you go? I don't think you cheat the kids."

"When do you go to a three-day school week? When do you go to a two-day? I'm just saying," North added.

The projected savings has a lot less to do with systems utilization that is quoted in the article (HVAC, etc), and considerably more to do with fuel costs of removing 20% of the bus demand. According to the sites I checked, it appears the common suggested average for a reasonably modern school bus is 10 MPG around town.

Of course, a good portion of the fuel budget drain is self inflicted by those that insist it is only fair to bus kids across a county to achieve some forced quota ratio, than let the kids attend the school closest to their home.

Another argument for this is the reduced cost of repairs for school buses. Buses in SC average 15,000 miles per year (keep in mind that is average, and usually for 9 out of 12 months). Presumably, a 20% cut in miles traveled relates to a similar decrease in direct wear and tear costs.

It may not necessarily postpone the need to purchase new buses though. SC currently operates on a 15year and/or 250,000 mile policy for replacing a bus, and due to evolving standards of safety, I don't see the 15 year rotation being extended, though for buses that travel significantly more than the 15,000 average, it might extend their useful years.

Our university cut back from 5 days to 4.5 days per week, making up hours with opening a bit earlier and staying open a bit later, and the savings were huge.

It had something to do with being able to ease up on temperature control of the buildings for a longer period of time over the weekend.

I was skeptical when they first did it, but the savings were significant.