Does the 4-day school week make the grade?

Cutting a day off the school week is an option catching some attention in the region this spring.

Dipping enrollment and dried-up funding sources are driving the interest, and school officials in several districts are talking about switching to a four-day week.

As the pros and cons are weighed, schools that have made the change are offering some positive feedback. Test scores have not been affected positively or negatively, absences have decreased and teachers give it high marks.

Genesee Superintendent David Neumann said his district is seriously considering the option.

"I think there are some really exciting educational benefits, especially in teacher training and collaboration. Sometimes teachers need to sit down and plan with other teachers, and we just don't have enough time right now."

The four-day week also is on the table in Kendrick and Cottonwood, but no decisions have been made. Many districts are waiting for the fuzzy budget picture to become more clear as they grapple with the best way to offset any shortfalls.

"We're assessing the four-day option," said Gary Blaz, superintendent of the Cottonwood School District. "It could save us between $40,000 to $60,000 a year."

The savings come from paying classified staff for fewer hours, keeping buses in the garage an extra day and reducing the use of utilities.

But an area superintendent who worked in one of the first school districts to adopt the policy cautions it may not be as wonderful as it sounds.

"It's like everything else, it sounds great until you think about it," said Bruce Bradberry, superintendent of the Troy School District and former administrator at Challis, where the policy was adopted six years ago.

"My conclusion is districts and states should not adopt a four-day week to save money. It's not worth it. If there is another reason, that's different. In Challis it worked well for families because much of the population is involved in ranching and mining and have varying schedules. Closer to a larger town, where there is a more traditional work week, it doesn't work as well."

The four-day week isn't an option for Washington schools. But several state lawmakers from the Yakima area have introduced bills to make it legal, and those are currently making their way through the House and Senate.

In Idaho, the four-day week was recently studied by a Rural Education Task Force, which was put together in 2008 to look at solutions to rural districts' issues. The group's findings are available online to help districts considering the option make informed decisions, said Nick Smith, deputy superintendent of school support services for the State Department of Education. The Web site is www.sde.idaho.gov.

There are 14 districts and two charter schools in Idaho on four-day weeks. The largest school district in Idaho using the schedule is Boundary County with 1,634 students. At the other end of the spectrum is Three Creek Elementary in Rogerson with four kids in grades K-8.

One of the reasons rural districts make the change is because of a marked decline in student population, which can have a big effect on budgets.

"Our biggest concern right now is we have 42 seniors and 22 kindergartners," said Blaz, Cottonwood's superintendent. "We used to have two classes in each grade. Now we have one kindergarten and one first grade. We're looking at some serious cuts in the next few years."

Kamiah Superintendent Michael Bundy, who is familiar with four-day weeks from his years in Alaska and Montana, said it takes a lot of community buy-in to make such a move successful.

"Before it can be considered, the community would have to have input. The research will tell you always go to your community. If people are adamantly against it, the four-day week won't work like you want it to. School boards are sensitive to that."

One of the biggest obstacles is day care. Parents wonder what they'll do with their younger children on Friday, but many communities adapt quickly, he said.

"When things get very tight, a lot of rural communities look at the four-day week. Every community is different. People need time to think about it. It's kind of a sensitive subject, and we're a long way from making that change. If you're really serious about it, you shouldn't just let dollars drive the decision. You have to consider instructional contact time."

Bradberry said surveys were sent out in Challis at the end of the first year, and "generally speaking, what we found is everybody loved it. Lower elementary parents had a few concerns about the length of the day, but it wasn't an overwhelming concern."

But on the financial side, the savings weren't significant.

"We guessed we probably saved about 2 percent of our total budget. Teachers' salaries are the same. The only savings is 20 percent of lunchroom costs, some on custodial, and 20 percent of basic transportation. However, the state (currently) pays 85 percent of basic transportation expenses so the local district saves very little."

According to the task force's findings, schools that have switched report decreased drop-out rates, fewer disciplinary referrals, stable student achievement, improved attendance, less interrupted class time, improved school morale, and higher quality staff development.

There is a lack of evidence on whether the four-day week helps or hurts student achievement, the task force reports. Districts have seen an increase in actual instructional time because there's less interference from athletics and medical appointments.

"Most school districts and their patrons that have transitioned to the four-day week indicate that they would never return to the traditional schedule," Neumann said in his blog on the Genesee School District's Web site. "It may or may not be the best fit for Genesee, but it is part of the ongoing discussion of how the district will respond to the current financial crunch while maintaining the highest quality education services possible for our clients."

In the Juliaetta-Kendrick area, town meetings are scheduled to gather feedback on the option. Deb Klatt, vice chairwoman of the joint district's school board, said a committee was formed at the last board meeting to look at pros and cons.

A town hall meeting for the community is 7 p.m. March 19 at the Juliaetta Elementary School, and another meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. April 16 in the Kendrick gym.

School officials in Lewiston, Riggins, Nezperce, Moscow, Deary, Troy, Potlatch, Grangeville, Kooskia, Lapwai and Culdesac said the four-day schedule isn't in the immediate forecast.

"We see no academic benefit to encourage us to consider a four-day school week," said Nezperce Superintendent Doug Flaming. "The savings come mainly from work-hour reductions from classified employees that are the lowest-paid people in the school district. This savings would be minimal in our district, so the four-day week at this point in time is not under consideration."

Greg Bailey, superintendent of the Mountain View School District, which includes schools in Grangeville, Elk City, White Bird and Kooskia, said his district talked about it two years ago and decided not to pursue the change.

"We didn't see that it would save us much money and there were some negative aspects we didn't like. Actually, I'm a pretty strong advocate against it."

Bailey said one of his chief concerns is losing one morning of classroom instruction every week.

"That's the best instructional time for students. Adding time at the end of the day is not as productive. I think it's a fallacy that helps your academics. ... It's got to be a choice beyond financial, in my opinion. It's pretty much up to the community and what works for them."

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Sandaine may be contacted at kerris@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2264.