The article title reads “Shorter school days could be next budget cut“.
Here’s an excerpt:
Members of the Legislature’s Education Committee on Thursday began assessing their options for filling in their part of that budget hole, and trimming a few days from the academic year surfaced as an option.
A single school shutdown day could save the state and local school districts $7 million statewide, Education Commissioner Susan Gendron said.
Maine school superintendents were the first to suggest school shutdown days when they brought up the idea at a budget strategy session at the end of August.
“I have a hard time talking about it, because we talked about giving kids more time in school,” said Rep. Patricia Sutherland, D-Chapman. “But it is an effective way” to cut expenditures.
It’s fewer, not shorter.
That $7 million is an interesting number.
Does it represent labor savings, across all categories of education employment? Inquiring minds would like to know!
We wonder…