Schools are moving to four-day weeks, shortening the school year, staggering start times and making other schedule adjustments to save money.
Some altered schedules to fill budget holes for this year. Others are planning for next year but don’t know how much their budgets will be reduced as legislators face shrinking tax revenue.
Although federal stimulus funds will help, “most districts are still unaware of how much money that will mean for them,” says Mary Kusler, a lobbyist for the American Association of School Administrators.
In Bisbee, Ariz., schools Superintendent Gail Covington says she expects a 10 percent cut.
“Can we remove 13 teachers? Absolutely not,” she says. “Can we do deep salary reductions? Not if we want to attract qualified teachers and keep the teachers we have.”
