Study Says Four-Day School Week Doesn’t Save Money in Idaho

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A study by a rural education group has found that the four-day school week some Idaho schools have adopted has not been saving money as they were intended. The Spokesman-Review reports that the Rural Opportunities Consortium of Idaho, an initiative of the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, found that some districts saw their costs rise after the switch to a shorter week. There was little data on the educational impact of the schedule.

In Idaho, 42 of the state's 115 school districts have gone to a four-day school week as a money-saving move. In 2006, only 10 school districts operated on the same schedule. Idaho's state school superintendent Sherri Ybarra says four-day weeks are a local decision and that the report is not a state issue.