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Four Day Week Presentation at Rotary Meeting 1/28/08 |
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The Rotary members listened to a brief presentation on the four-day week option and then made comments and asked questions that are listed below. Their concerns closely mirror those of the larger community of Whitehall based on the other public forums we have had about the four-day week... |
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The comments and questions came after the presentation: |
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| What impact does this type of schedule have on teh special needs children who may require the consistancy of the 5 day program? |
Due to the specific nature of special needs it is impossible to cluster results. This is a frequently-asked question with no good answer. |
| Nationally recognized studies show children do better by starting their day a little later. Why not be progressive and change to a time schedule that will start later in the day and be more beneficial to the students? |
Good question! Maybe a later start and end time would take some daycare pressure off, too? Hmmmm. |
| How do the longer hours affect K & 1st graders? |
The research shows that if you plan carefully, they adjust well. |
| What is the best choice for students? they will be our leaders tomorrow. Make the decision that will benefit them most. |
Bravo! The committee is trying to follow that maxim and make a recommendation accordingly. |
| Would subs get paid more for working a longer day? |
Districts change from per day or half day system to an hourly system, usually. So the answer is no, not per hour, but yes, per entire day. |
| What are the guarantees in saving money? |
There are no guarantees until policies are put in place around the schedule change. The common savings based on other schools are: energy, transportation, and classified wages. The February 4-day meeting will be all about finance. Please come to the meeting! Date TBA. |
| How will this affect 40 hr/week people? Is it just shifting the shortfall |
Many districts cut classified staff hour back by one day and lengthen the four days that are worked, so there is a net loss. Some schools raise wages to make up the difference. That decision hasn't been made. |
| What will happen if costs rise on the 4-day week? |
Costs will certainly rise on the four-day week, in the exact same manner they are rising in every area of life. The 4-day week doesn't permanently solve the flawed funding system... |
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Do teachers get less salary?
Do administrators get less salary? |
It depends, but usually not. Some schools decide that teacher & admin hours don't get cut and they work a full Friday twice per month. Some teachers unions take less of an annual raise in one year in light of the small decrease in hours worked per year. This item varies per district, and we haven't gotten that far yet. |
| Why would you pay classified staff more money per hour if the district is trying to save money? |
This decision is made when the community and board members decide that saving school dollars at the expense of employee paychecks is not a good solution for the district. |
| Is saving money the #1 reason for making this change? |
It depends who you ask. Finance-minded people might say yes. Teachers who are tired of kids being absent all the time would say no. Saving money was absolutely the reason this conversation was raised, and it happened when GSM announced their closure. |
| Can you do a test-year and go back to the five-day if it doesn't work? |
Some communities have stipulated a two- or three-year review, with the idea of returning if the community isn't happy. One year isn't indicative of much in a big system, and though you might get financial info, you would have no idea about test score effects. |
| Would they really put in the same number of hours per year? |
It depends on the "they"! A child who never misses a class would put in less seat time. A three-sport athlete would put in more. A varsity wrestler would put in the same. A teacher's time would be very close to the same. Instructional hours offered would be less by 47 hours, if we go with the OPI minimum of 1080 hours grades 6-12. Current hours are (roughly)1127 per year in grades 6-12, though any day currently "counts" as a day as long as lunch is served! |
| Great consideration must be given to those families that would need to find child care one day per week. Kids home alone are not good. |
True. The question is not simple, though. If the school doesn't have enough money to run as-is, something has to go (teachers? programs?), or more money has to be found (tax increase? bake sale?). Everyone pays when taxes are increased, even fixed-income seniors, who already raised their children... Tough question. |
| If hourly salaries are increased there is no savings. If there is no hourly increase, employees will leave. |
Yes, and there is the problem. The hard line response is that if some people quit, others will apply who only want to work four days per week. The other side of the argument requires finding other places to save money than classified staff. |
| If teachers go home tired on Friday and return tired on Monday, how will a longer work day help that? |
There will only be four of them, and yes they will be longer, but only four... this piece of info resounds through all the research. Teachers report higher energy and better morale-- as do students. |
| When my husband worked ten-hour days, he said they didn't accompish that much mor ein the extra two hours becasue they were tired. |
Work force studies show that the loss of productivity in the last two hours is made up for by the reduction in clean-up, set-up, lunch and breaks.
In a school setting, no one is suggesting adding two hours. We are discussing changing from 8:18-3:18 to 8:00- 3:45 or something along those lines. |
| Daycare costs for parents are paid through taxes for school or privately. |
I am not certain I am interpreting this correctly, but I believe the comment means either pay private daycare on Friday or pay for the school to provide it through increased taxes. If that is not correct, will the author please contact Holly and explain! |
| If staff works on Friday, won't that negate utilities saved? |
The difference between 40 adults opening building doors three times per day each and 400 students 3 times per day is significant, wether the building is being heated or cooled. Toilets flushing, lights on everywhere, etc. |
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I would personally like to thank the Whitehall Rotary Club for inviting me to speak on this issue. Your questions and comments were insightful and you reinforced my belief that the community is listening, thinking, and putting in the effort to make the best choice for Whitehall's students in the face of tough, multi-faceted issues that aren't going to go away. Thank you!
~Holly Harper
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