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Four-Day School Week Gets Study

By Alex Bahr

(Created: Thursday, September 11, 2008 8:36 AM EDT)

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The Loudoun County School Board will begin discussions among its committees about the feasibility of switching to a four-day school week.

Thomas Reed (At Large) asked that the topic be added as an information item for Tuesday's meeting, saying he wanted the chairmen of various committees to add the topic as an agenda item for their future meetings.

Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick said he has been receiving information "daily" from the Virginia School Board Association about other districts that have converted to a four-day week.

"This is not unlike the phenomenon of 1973," Hatrick said. "We had a gas crisis, and this issue was studied up one side and down the other."

Proponents of four-day school weeks say the change could help school boards save money on the gas needed to transport students to and from school, and the energy needed to heat and cool the schools, but several board members expressed doubts about the validity of those claims.

"Lots of schools found that they were open that day for all sorts of activities," Hatrick said, referring to the Fridays when students wouldn't be in class. "While you weren't busing kids, you were heating the building."

Hatrick also said that some employees actually end up working overtime, having put in their 40 hours for the week in the first four days and then coming in on Fridays to assist with student activities.

Additionally, schools would have to spend more energy heating and cooling their facilities for longer periods of time, he said.

Hatrick also questioned the feasibility of having elementary students attend school for up to 10 hours a day.

"I have a lot of red flags, not yellow flags, about 10-hour days for elementary students," Hatrick said, noting that they could become 11- to 12-hour days when factoring in commute times.

Reed pointed out that if the district did extend the school day by up to three hours, buses would be driving in rush hour traffic in both the morning and evening, adding to commute times.

J. Warren Geurin (Sterling), chairman of the committee on curriculum and instruction, said he has already begun preliminary discussions in his panel.

"The savings for additional gain by not driving buses and not buying gas are going to be offset initially by extra hours for people, and I'm not sure that we can actually make savings," he said.

Tom Marshall (Leesburg) said the board would also have to consider the effects of a four-day school week on families with two working parents, including the need for childcare on Fridays when the parents would be working and the children wouldn't be in school.

The board agreed to have committee chairmen consult with their staff liaisons to try and schedule discussions on the issue over the next several months.

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Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of Leesburg Today.
Total Comments: 13 comment(s)

Bill Urpps wrote on Sep 19, 2008 8:00 PM:

" In response to LivingInWonderland,YES, we actually did vote this new Board in. And in response to another reader who commented on another Schools article that we will soon have some new Board members, I remind you that your next turn for that will come in November 2011! Thats why folks really needed to pay very close attention to these races back in November 2007. But dont worry too much about 4-day school. If you noticed, none of the Board members supported that. And whenever you hear the Superintendent publicly disparage an idea like he did this one, you can bet it is not going anywhere! For those of you who were here some 30-35 years ago, this 4-day concept is about as likely as the Year Round School concept to be adopted here. It just looks good for them to say they looked at it to save money! "

livinginwonderland wrote on Sep 18, 2008 10:23 AM:

" Did we vote this new board in? Four day 10 hour school days?s. Who came up with that? What a waste of time to even think about that. There is so much more that needs to be done with our schools and to come up with only that is scary. Western Loudoun needs a school, zoning needs to be re-done so families that live by a school go there not the school across town. This happen to my sister's familiy. She lives a block away from an elementary school but because of zoning issues her children now go across Ashburn by bus when they used to walk to the school by their house. Who came up with that? That is not saving money because now you have a whole group of children who used to walk now getting on a bus to go to school way across Asburn. Not to smart people on the board. How is that saving money by adding a new bus route and adding another bus to the streets? Where is the common since from the board? The board needs to address adding jobs and affordable housing to Loudoun so teachers, hospital workes and fire and police workers don't have to work outside the county. My son goes to therapy through out the week and most of his therapiest live outside of Loudoun or out of state. How long will it be before the commute wears on them and they quit? Not sure why the board even brought this idea up when there is so much more that needs to be done in Loudoun. The new election year cannot come fast enough for me but then again will it even help those of us who have to put with this stuff? "

parentof4 wrote on Sep 15, 2008 6:46 AM:

" LMAO....like they have nothing better to be talking about than something like this?? Come on! This is so not happening why waste your time and our money? Lots of good points here, especially the commuting of teachers because our tax rate is so high they can't afford to live here and then the high schoolers who would, if they have any activities, wouldn't be home until 8pm or later. But I would especially agree with those who have children in over-crowded schools....nothing like sardine conditions for 10 hours a day to make the kids totally unmanageable...and who would blame them? "

JoeCitizen wrote on Sep 14, 2008 11:35 AM:

" FYI - Here are the facts on school bus gas usage. The LCPS website says their buses travel 8 million miles a year. The buses get an average of 6-8 miles per gallon. The Central Vehicle Maintenance department budget for fuel is $7.7 million a year for all county vehicles. Judging by the percentage of the budget assigned to LCPS, I estimate about $5 million is for school bus fuel, so a 4-day school week would save about $1 million a year. There may not be any savings at all on utilities because of increased demand during longer school days and because the heating/cooling systems are not shut down on non-school days.

If they publicly stated this is all they expect to save, most of us would consider it a joke to study it further. We expect the school board to actually do some productive work and improve education; not to waste time studying a radical schedule change that would save just $1 million out of a $755 millon annual budget and that 90% of parents would probably object to; not to waste time colluding with Ed Hatrick to devise new scare tactics to build public support for a budget that is obviously much more than what they need to provide a quality education. "

JoeCitizen wrote on Sep 11, 2008 11:53 PM:

" leesburg southeast: You are so right. What was I thinking? There are a few red flags in the article that should have tipped me off.

First, 'the "daily" reports from the VSBA about other districts that have converted'. Hatrick didn't mention who they are because no counties in Virginia have converted yet, as far as I can tell. Maybe the VSBA is referring to some podunk school districts in the midwest. We should definitely follow their lead!

Second, notice how no dollar figures were mentioned? That's because the total gas and utility costs for the school system are only about $20 million a year - not much out of a $755 million budget - so we are talking about a $4 million savings, at best, with a 4-day school week. They would have us believe these costs are much higher than they actually are to divert attention away from the budget-busting costs.

So, you are saying their plan is to make us believe they really would like to be able to save the taxpayers some money, and they tried their hardest to make it possible, therefore they won't be able to cut a nickel from the $125 million dollar budget increase they are going to ask for in 2010? "

Bob Baker wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:54 PM:

" I agree with leesburg southeast. The school board will never adopt a 4 day week.

I think this is just scare tactic developed by the board to attempt to force approval of the meals tax. In my opinion, the board will then publicize all the horrors a 4 day week will cause, which can be avoided by voting for the meals tax.

Just another trick pulled out of the hat by King Hatrick. "

teacher aide wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:53 PM:

" Oh, Yes, teachers get sooooooo much time off. Calling parents on the weekend, doing lesson plans on the weekend and at night grading papers.

That aside, I see buses now at after 5 pm dropping students off in forgotten Western Loudoun. Then the poor bus drivers have to go home. Hatrick has no sympathy for them.

All that aside, a simple solution would be a 10 hour day, 4 day work week for school administration and 12 month workers during the summer. Other close by counties have adopted this. Some savings not impacting the students.

And oh my yes. Have the kids walk when they can. Geeez, some buses stop every half block. What's up with that?

And of course, minimal or no raises for the superintendants. That goes without saying. But I've not heard that. "

sarah s wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:45 PM:

" My 8th grader liked the idea of a 3-day weekend but logistics sound WAY too complicated and childcare needs too overwhelming. Westerners - At Large School Board rep Tom Reed told me "on the record" tonight that we will hear LCPS' plans for interim solutions in a public forum, preferably at Harmony, scheduled by the end of September. Let's see if he can come through on that committment. "

Wendy Drury wrote on Sep 11, 2008 4:49 PM:

" What about kids in after school clubs and activities, like band, sports, etc.? They go another 1-2 hours after the regular school day and that is an awfully long day for them, even more so when you figure in the homework time. And when are the teachers supposed to get home? Most of them can't afford to live in Loudoun and have to commute from Winchester, W. Virginia, etc. Those folks hardly see their families as it is.. . . . .Now, to bring out the broken record, AGAIN - revise boundaries to ALL schools in this county and place kids in the schools that are closest to their homes. Has anyone done any studies on how much gas would be saved for bus trips? Gee, a lot more kids could actually WALK to school. We save tax $$ and they get some exercise. Its not rocket science, its common sense. "

leesburg southeast wrote on Sep 11, 2008 4:36 PM:

" It's simply really. They have no plans to switch to a 4 day school week. They are only discussing this to give the appearance of having to do whatever is neccessary to get the funding they want. They can talk about cost cutting all they want, start at the top and work your way down like any sensible person would.

The hardship that a 4 day school week would put on a working family would be very difficult. "

JoeCitizen wrote on Sep 11, 2008 2:25 PM:

" A 4-day school week is the most idiotic suggestion I have ever heard, for so many reasons. Why is the school board is wasting time on something that would be so detrimental to the children and disrupt the lives of their families? Focus on other items in your fat budget that won't negatively impact the children.

Is this about saving gas or is it really about the teachers union trying to get a 4-day work week for their members? Like they don't get enough days off already. It may save gas for the school system, and the employees, but what about all the 2-income families - and there are many who need the 2nd income to pay the crushing tax bills in this county - that will now have to shuttle their kids to and from childcare on Fridays? It is just another example of public schools shifting costs down to parents. "

ValleyMom wrote on Sep 11, 2008 12:43 PM:

" I totally agree with WLMom! I was one of the students in LCPS at the time in '73 who was in the year-round school. What a farce that was - but not quite as big as the one facing my son who is currently attending LVHS and rides the bus for over an hour only to be in a "temporary" trailer with over 30 students! GET WOODGROVE BUILT NOW! I'd rather see my tax dollars spent building a WESTERN high school and not wasted discussing options that are so far fetched that pigs would have a better chance of flying before the overcrowding in LVHS get relieved! Visit www.woodgrovenow.com and sign the petition to get this school built! "

WLMom wrote on Sep 11, 2008 11:37 AM:

" The school board should not even be discussing a "4 day school week" until they have a solid solution to the 5 day school week for the kids in Western Loudoun!!!!!! When are the parents and students that attend the overcrowded elementary schools, Blue Ridge Middle School, Harmony Intermediate and Loudoun Valley be given the "plan" to educate our kids 5 days a week? Waiting for the Supreme Court decision should no longer enter into the equation - we need to know NOW! "



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