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Where was this when I was growing up?
All you parents in Denver, Colorado are going to have to start finding a sitter for Mondays because according to 11Alive News, School District 27J will be switching from a traditional five-day school week to a four-day school week starting in August of this year. And I’m going to assume kids there have this reaction now:
The reason for this? To help “create a schedule that acts as enticement for recruiting and retaining quality teachers as well as allows for the allocation of resources to items more critical to the district’s “primary purpose.”
Here’s what District 27J Superintendent Chris Fiedler had to say on the dramatic change:
“We’re confident it’s going to attract teachers and keep them. I haven’t had teachers say that this is a horrible idea…I realize this will be a significant change for our students, their families, and the communities we are so fortunate to serve, but our district can no longer be expected to do more with less financial resources.”
11Alive News
The new schedule follows the district’s six failed attempts to get more money through bond elections. With the new change, Fiedler said they hope to save around $1 million in three key areas. By not running school buses on the days with no classes, he said the district estimates to save around $700,000. School District 27J plans to tack on a couple hundred thousand more dollars by not paying for substitute teachers. The final big saving, Fiedler said, would come from utility costs, but it’s unclear how much that might be.
While the school district plans on saving money, some parents will have to pay a little more for child care. Fiedler said the district offers child care services on the days kids won’t be in school. It costs $30 a day which he admits isn’t as great as the option parents currently have when their students are in class.
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Kids will not have to come into school on Monday, but teachers will still have to come in. Here’s what Fiedler added:
“We really feel like Monday is the day to prepare and to be better for kids. This will give people a chance to have a weekend and then come in on Monday — whether they’re paid to or not because they’re doing that work anyway to be prepared for kids and to be better for kids.”
What do you think? Would you want your kids to have a four-day school week? Would you prefer them having a seven-day school week? I’m going to assume the latter is more popular for parents.
