Rural Minn. districts want to maintain 4-day weeks

PELICAN RAPIDS, Minn. (AP) - Ten rural Minnesota school districts have gone to four-day weeks to save on transportation and other costs, but the state is pressuring them to return to a five-day school week.

District officials say they don’t want to change back because they’ve found a way to save money without sacrificing quality of education. But the state Department of Education says districts need to make decisions with the students’ best interests in mind, Minnesota Public Radio reported (https://bit.ly/1ggGwCf ).

The Pelican School District is among those that cut one school day a week. By giving students Mondays off and extending the other school days, the district has saved about $100,000 per year.

Superintendent Deb Wanek said the district’s curriculum is just as strong.

“The perception is if you go to a four-day school week that’s too bad - you’ve had to cut so much,” she said. “In reality we have a very strong program even with a four-day school week.”

When Wanek asked the state Department of Education last year for permission to continue using the four-day schedule for another three years, department Commissioner Brenda Cassellius approved the request only through the end of this school year. Cassellius wrote a letter strongly advising the district to return to a five-day week.

Spokesman Josh Collins said the Department of Education favors four-day weeks only if they improve students’ academic performance. He said districts should be in better financial shape now because lawmakers approved $500 million in new education funds.

State education officials also want the Lake Superior School District in Two Harbors and Silver Bay to consider returning to a five-day week, an idea that Superintendent Bill Crandall said could be financially disastrous. He said the current short week saves $250,000 per year, and that it should be up to local communities to decide whether to keep the setup or switch back.

“We have local control,” he said. “We’d like to be able to meet the needs of our students based on what we see as a good fit for both our students and our community.”

State education officials said they’ll consider the pleas of districts that want to remain on a four-day week into the future.

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Information from: Minnesota Public Radio News, https://www.mprnews.org