4-day week for schools rejected
Bangor Daily News, May 23, 2008
(excerpt) Education Commissioner Susan Gendron said Thursday that several school districts have asked about a waiver to allow a four-day school week to help mitigate the skyrocketing costs of energy, but she has had to say no.
"There are no provisions in the law that allows me to grant a waiver," she said in an interview. "The law requires them to meet 175 days a year."
Gendron said other states have had schools move to a four-day school week in response to the increasing cost of energy. She said districts in Maine are facing a similar situation with some rural districts having high transportation costs on top of heating costs that also have been growing faster than anyone predicted.
"I suspect that we will have to revisit the law in the next session," she said. "I suspect we are going to have to look at doing a lot of things differently."
Gendron said energy costs are a growing part of the operational costs of schools across the state. She said some units are looking at schedule changes they can accomplish within existing law that would ease the energy burden.
"The last time we were faced with this some school districts took longer winter breaks," she said. "Instead of taking a week around the holidays, they took two weeks. They took longer breaks in the winter and did not take one in the spring, and they saved money by doing that."
(excerpt) Education Commissioner Susan Gendron said Thursday that several school districts have asked about a waiver to allow a four-day school week to help mitigate the skyrocketing costs of energy, but she has had to say no.
"There are no provisions in the law that allows me to grant a waiver," she said in an interview. "The law requires them to meet 175 days a year."
Gendron said other states have had schools move to a four-day school week in response to the increasing cost of energy. She said districts in Maine are facing a similar situation with some rural districts having high transportation costs on top of heating costs that also have been growing faster than anyone predicted.
"I suspect that we will have to revisit the law in the next session," she said. "I suspect we are going to have to look at doing a lot of things differently."
Gendron said energy costs are a growing part of the operational costs of schools across the state. She said some units are looking at schedule changes they can accomplish within existing law that would ease the energy burden.
"The last time we were faced with this some school districts took longer winter breaks," she said. "Instead of taking a week around the holidays, they took two weeks. They took longer breaks in the winter and did not take one in the spring, and they saved money by doing that."
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