When A 4-Day School Week Might Cost More Than It Saves
First thing Friday morning, Bill Florence is getting his two kids, Chloe, 11, and Austen, 8, ready to head out the door.
"Did you guys brush your teeth?" he asks. "Yes," they moan.
Monday through Thursday Chloe and Austen catch the bus to Peralta Trail Elementary School, but today, their dad scoots them into the family's silver Honda.
That's because Apache Junction Unified School District, just east of Phoenix, moved to a four-day week this year. With little else to cut out of its shrinking budget, it dropped Friday classes, adding an hour to class-time Monday through Thursday.
On the fifth day, Florence drops his kids off at a city-run daycare that costs the family more than $100 a month — a cost they don't have any other day of the week.
This year alone Bill and his wife, Jennifer Florence, will pay more than $1,500 in childcare because of the four-day schedule. "We are not happy with it. It isn't the ideal situation. We would rather have the kids in school on Friday," he says.
But something in the schools had to go. The district of 4,500 students says its bills are high, too. After closing schools, and growing class sizes, Apache Junction joined at least 41 other districts in Arizona already on the four-day schedule.
Superintendent Chad Wilson blames the state of Arizona. Parodying officials he says, "Pay your bills that cost what they cost in 2016 off of what you were making in 1987."
All across the country districts have tried cutting the fifth day to save money on things like gas for buses, heating and cooling bills and school lunches.
This year Apache Junction estimates it'll save less than one percent of the budget by dropping Friday classes. That's about $33 per student, per year.
Again, the Florences pay close to $30 every Friday for daycare. So, were there other reasons behind the move?
As Superintendent Wilson points out: Yes, teachers.
Third-grade teacher, Shana Myers, and her colleagues in Apache Junction make up to $10,000 less than surrounding districts. And when they leave, turnover is When A 4-Day School Week Might Cost More Than It Saves : NPR Ed : NPR: