Bill would come to the rescue of four-day school weeks

Some rural Minnesota school districts want lawmakers to help them keep their four-day school weeks in place.

Bills in the state House and Senate would let districts decide whether to shorten their weeks, without getting permission from the state. But the state Department of Education and Gov. Mark Dayton want the practice ended, saying it doesn't help student achievement.

State officials allowed a handful a districts to put four-day weeks in place several years ago to save money. Among them was the Blackduck Public School District in northern Minnesota, which dropped its Monday classes.

In exchange for a three-day weekend, students spent longer days in the classroom. Despite the shorter week, they spent 40 more hours a year in the classroom than they did under a five-day week.

Initially, the shorter week was not very popular in the community as parents were worried about how those longer days would affect young students and what students would do on their days off, Blackduck High School principal Joshua Grover said.

But since then, Grover said the community has come to largely support shorter school weeks. He said having Mondays off gives families time to handle medical appointments and other obligations outside of school. It also gives teachers a day to prep for their upcoming week.

"It really is working for us," Grover said.

There have been budget savings as well. Since the district still needs to pay salaries and heat buildings, the savings nearly all come in transportation costs.

With a four-day schedule, Blackduck's busses sit idle on Mondays, saving $100,000 to $150,000 every year in fuel costs.

In Two Harbors, the sprawling Lake Superior school district is saving about $170,000 on transportation by taking Fridays off, Superintendent Bill Crandall said.

Crandall said that's money the district can use to pay for programs or hire teachers. He said his community supports the four-day week, but there's been pushback from the state.

Last year the Minnesota Department of Education told his district, along with Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, Ogilvie, MACCRAY and Pelican Rapids, to return to a five-day week in the fall of 2015.

The reason: state officials aren't seeing enough improvement in test scores in districts with four-day weeks.

Crandall said students in his district are making testing gains, but admits they're still below the state's averages.

"Are we growing? Yes," he said. "Are we progressing as fast as the state wants us to? No."

Districts on the four-day week warn if they're forced to go back to a five-day schedule, they'll need to make budget cuts.

But Minnesota Department of Education officials say that's no longer a valid argument.

Department spokesman Josh Collins said as the state's budget picture has improved, so has funding for education.

"When we were seeing declining investment that conversation may have made sense, but it's a very different financial picture today," Collins said.

Officials in districts with four-day weeks say they're grateful for the boost in state money, but it's money that's gone to maintain programming and staff following years of flat funding.

Going back to a five-day week they say would require cuts to teaching staff, or course offerings, to make up for the increase in transportation costs.

The eight districts aren't giving up on their shortened schedules and have asked Minnesota lawmakers for help.

A Republican bill in the House and a bipartisan measure in the Senate would give school boards the final say on flexible schedules like four-day weeks.

"Why do we keep electing school boards if we're not going to authorize them to make important decisions like the style of learning year they want," said state Rep. Sondra Erickson, R-Princeton, one of the authors of the House bill.

Erickson, who chairs the House Education Innovation Policy Committee is confident the bill will make it to the House floor for a vote.

But it could face opposition from Dayton if it makes it to his desk.

During his inaugural speech last month, Dayton said he opposes the approach because he thinks it shortchanges students.