More time in school? Or less time?

School districts are fighting the same budget battles as other public administrators. With diminishing resources, school districts across the country are experimenting with furloughs and four-day work weeks. However, as FoxNews points out, Obama has advocated longer instructional hours to give our children a competitive edge, but teachers unions are pushing for ways to avoid laying off teachers. Particularly fascinating is the trend in Hawaii of some parents trying to rent the school on the day off and individually paying teachers to keep their children in school. It’s an interesting tug-of-war.

Shortened work week saves money

Winnebago County in Illinois has come up with their version of a compressed work week. According to the Rockford Register Star, the County will close up shop at 3 p.m. on Friday, essentially cutting the work week to 38 hours instead of 40. They expect to save about $347,000 in reduced wages alone.

The unions are against this proposal, but judging by the comments, it appears some community members favor it. What do you think?

Furloughs: Another sign of the times

In another attempt to save money, more state and local governments are implementing furloughs. Read the Wall Street Journal here.

Four-day school week?

It’s being tried, most recently in La Grange, Georgia.  The consensus I’ve read briefly says a four-day school week is similar to a four-day work week:  it saves money and makes employees happy. However, I also seem to remember reading that the impact on student learning is minimal. I’m now in search of that article and will post the link when I find it.

Clackamas County and Time Magazine

For the past 11 months, we have been evaluating the four-day work week implemented by Clackamas County for their employees. It’s been a wild ride! We submitted the final report last week, and will discuss the contents at a public meeting on Sept. 8th. It’s still up in the air whether or not the county commissioners will keep the schedule, but they must make a decision quickly to follow union procedures. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, in the Sept. 9, 2009 issue of Time magazine has an update on the four-day work week at the state of Utah. It appears other communities are trying this new schedule and seeing the benefits and the challenges for themselves.

State of Utah TravelWise Webpage

TravelWise appears to be a State of Utah initiative encouraging companies to follow their lead in adopting compressed work weeks and using other strategies to reduce emissions and save energy. It needs a closer look because it seems like they are making some bold assumptions about cost savings and productivity. But then again, maybe not.

Results of State of Washington 4-day Work Week Study

The State of Washington also started a pilot project last fall to study the cost savings of a 4-day work week. In a September 2008 news release, Gov. Christine Gregoire noted potential benefits including:

• Reduced costs through energy savings
• Increased employee satisfaction
• Increased customer service through expanded hours of operation
• Decreased employee commuting may mean less environmental impact.

Now, six months later, the State of Washington has released the initial results of the pilot project. According to an April 23 article by Adam Wilson of The Olympian, one of the benefits has been realized. Employees enjoy the new work schedule and are more satisfied with their jobs. However, the cost savings is not as much as anticipated. The largest department in the pilot project, the Department of Community Trade and Economic Development, anticipated an energy savings of $20,000, but said the savings are closer to $10,000.

State officials are unsure whether the pilot project will be expanded or scrapped. However, it appears more aggressive actions may need to be taken to fill their budget shortfalls for the coming year.