Should 4 Dollar Gas=4 Day Work Week?
| Thu Jul. 10, 2008 2:48 PM PDT
School districts across the country, reacting to wicked high gas prices, are shifting to four-day work weeks—and in some cases asking kids to walk a little farther to catch the bus.
While the potential benefits of having kids walk a bit more are intriguing, is it really possible to cram five days of student learning into four?
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No matter. The rising cost ($4 a gallon and rising) of running those big yellow diesel school buses is too much for some rural districts, like this one outside St. Paul, Minnesota, which said a month ago it would save about $65,000 by switching to a four-day week.
A North Carolina school district told reporters it would save $500 to $800 a day by chopping one day off the school week.
And it's not just schools. Even folks at a state attorney's office in McHenry County, Illinois, are getting in on the action: they've gone to a 40-hour, four-day work week, as have members of the Suffolk County legislature in New York; although in some cases reaction to these decisions isn't always positive.
South Carolina's governor signed into law $19 million for school bus fuel for the 2008-09 school year. Some Houston school employees are even getting $250 bonuses to help with commuting costs.
Some argue the personal (happier employees!) and economic/environmental benefits are worth it. Others maintain, simply, that this "half-day crap must stop".
Comments
So struggling-to-make-ends-meet families are going to take a triple hit they can't afford, due to high fuel prices. Particularly the rural people mentioned.
They have to pay double the fuel prices of a few years ago (though their wages certainly haven't doubled), the cost of everything they buy that's been shipped by truck, train and/or ship will go up, and then taxes have to go up to pay for fuel for the schools..., and don't forget the local, state & national politicians & bureaucrats, who live off the taxpayer's labor, are going to be turning in higher expense reports due to higher fuel.
But who cares about them, since we estimate that the environment will benefit?
since the public school system is kind of a glorified free day care for many working parents this will actually end up costing money not saving money IMO as all of the parents that work during school hours will now have to drive their kid to and from day care and pay for day care... this will almost certainly add up to more cost per capita than will be saved by driving the buses less often...
I'm not sold on the 4-day school week. Kids are antsy and ready to go at 3 - I can't imagine telling them, "Actually, we're staying here until 4:30 and you're going to have to do more work." (I'm saying that as a former school employee.) I wish that article had more information on how successful this model is in places that have done the 4-day week for awhile, like in Cimarron.
However, a 4-day work week is totally different. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but the people I know who are working such a schedule are really enjoying it. They are more tired during the four days they work, but they feel it is worth it for the three-day weekend every week (not to mention the gas savings). I think it's likely we'll see an increase in this and in people working from home 1-2 days a week.
