Are Four Day School Weeks Inevitable?

The rising cost of fuel and food are forcing many communities across the country to consider and adopt four day school weeks to save money and resources.

In this Reuters article entitled Schools eye four-day week to cut fuel costs by Rebekah Kebede we get a glimpse of an imminent future.

Facing a crippling increase in fuel costs, some rural U.S. schools are mulling a solution born of the '70s oil crisis: a four-day week.

Cutting out one day of school has been the key to preserving educational programs and staff in parts of Kentucky, New Mexico and Minnesota, outweighing some parents' concerns about finding day-care for the day off.

"For rural school districts where buses may travel 100 miles round-trip each day, there certainly are transportation savings worth considering," said Marc Egan, the director of federal affairs at the National School Boards Association.

Egan said about 100 schools in as many as 16 states have already moved to a four-day school week, many to save money on transportation, heating and cooling.