Burnsville, Minnesota School District Considers Shutting Down Every Other Monday

Snow days are so passé. Now it's all about budget cut days.

Yes, faced with budget woes, the Burnsville School district is considering giving its students every other Monday off, or starting their summer before Memorial Day in an aim to save $5 million next year, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. If officials go through with the plan, students would still be in school for the same number of hours.

The possibility of giving students a four-day week every other week may seem extreme, but Burnsville isn't the only school district looking for creative ways to prevent a budget crisis, according to the Associated Press. The recession has cut into education spending in towns across the country, as localities run out of the federal stimulus dollars that have staved off widespread job cuts over the past two years.

In northern Texas, a growing number of public schools are using an innovative tactic to close funding gaps without foregoing school days: Selling ad space on their buses and buildings. The commercialization of public school spaces comes in response to the Texas' legislature's decision to cut $5.4 billion in education funding and grants last year.

It's not just K-12 public schools that are coping with cuts to state funding. Many public colleges are outsourcing some non-essential services like parking lot management and dorm construction in an effort to save money amid state cuts to higher education.

But cuts to education funding aren't the only casualties of cash-strapped towns. In Baltimore, town officials are considering putting historic landmarks up for sale in an effort to close a $48 million shortfall. The town of North Las Vegas may charge its residents and visitors a fee to enter its new park. And in Highland Park, Michigan, officials ripped out more than 1,000 of its street lights to save money on its energy bills.

Comments

[FrogLips]

02:16 PM on 04/17/2012

All this is more evidence that education is not a priority in America. K-12 education is becoming just another form of day-care. We claim that education is important but the funding proves otherwise. Washington can force the Defense Department to buy tanks and airplanes it does not want or need but Congress can't find money to help local districts buy textbooks or hire teachers. Oh but they can give tax breaks to the wealthy 1%. Something is wrong here and we all know what it is. Corrupt politicians who work for whom ever pays them the most and schools kids ain't it.

[dvmweb1984]

09:19 PM on 04/16/2012

Our school went to a 4 day school week about two years ago. 7:30 a to 4:30p M-F. Most like it.

[smoker]

02:34 PM on 04/17/2012

You are a perfect example of why cutting down on days is not a good idea and why you are so dumb. M-F is 5 days and not a 4 day school week. Besides, the timings are for a whole day. Instead of liking it, start ruing it.

[California Beach Bum]

09:05 PM on 04/14/2012

If the school district wants to save money they should force all the administrators to take a 25 percent pay cut. School administrators are paid too much. That's one of the reasons the budgets or in trouble.

[TINA ANDRES]

12:57 PM on 04/14/2012

All this does is transfer the costs to the parents. Some private childcare companies will be the beneficiaries. Every action has a consequence and the consequence of this is financial hardship for many families. For those who can't afford the extra cost, the consequences will be felt in an increase in crime. A bunch of poor kids whose parents can't afford childcare but nevertheless must go to work will result in a bunch of poor kids running around the streets one day out of every two weeks. One of the major reasons for schools these days is actually a babysitting service for kids while their parents are at work, there is just no way to deny this.

[kinger50]

05:07 PM on 04/13/2012

"The possibility of giving students a four-day week every other week may seem extreme, but Burnsville isn't the only school district looking for creative ways to prevent a budget crisis, according to the Associated Press. "

This not an "extreme" idea. So much of school is wasted time due to poor student behaviors that while on paper, you could do a four day week, it might not work. The idea assumes students are raised with a work ethic and have excellent behavior in class so the time is maximized for learning, and that students do purposeful home study. Otherwise less school is likely to increase illiteracy.

[aralpharetta]

11:21 AM on 04/13/2012

Faced with Budget Woes - Oh My!

[Clamdip LobsterClaws]

11:18 AM on 04/13/2012

I think if you cut out all the school time wasters like reading the school lunch menu you could cut school down to 3-4 days /week if you just concentrated on academics. The last two days of the week could be managed by lower paid support staff who tutor the kids in interesting school assignments, music lessons, enrichment activities and field trips. It would be more interesting for the kids to go to places of interest like museums, ice skating rinks, kayaking, fishing and even help with community projects. They could even get in some reading time. If communities swallowed the cost and allowed free bus transport on city busses and trains for these students on these days, schools could save a bucketload of money and more jobs would be created at a lower rate to employ support staff.

[Leond]

10:58 AM on 04/13/2012

I wonder how much the parents in the district will spend (in the form of additional day care costs and "sick" days) to save the district $5 million.

[ronp121]

09:45 AM on 04/13/2012

Less education more corporation things are finally looking up for the rich thank goodness. Feeling bad that the rich still don't have enough to not yet think they should be taxed in a fair way. Needing to lay off more teachers and other community employees will help enhance not only the pocket books of the wealthy but will keep future uneducated riff raff out of the future of america's achievements due to the lack of education. Just another investment in the new corporate america.

[fz97]

08:49 AM on 04/13/2012

So let me get this straight: some Russian immigrant writes a fantasy novel to escape poverty because she has no other skills. The novel is marginally successful and literary critics write it off as fiction, which it is, and not good fiction at that.
Then some "financial wizard" decides to use the book as the basis to run the economy of the most powerful nation in the world. The predictable outcome ensues with power and wealth concentrating in the hands of a few and the rest losing purchasing power and real wealth. Sounds like a plan to me!!
This is the basis for modern conservatism, a failed writer's book of fantasy that sounds great when one reads it in grammar school but falls flat when you are the hamster on a wheel trying to get ahead in a rigged game. Pretty pathetic especially for most of them conservative voters who are on public assistance that is being surgically carved away in favor of tax breaks to the "job creators!"

[Me Now]

05:45 AM on 04/13/2012

Didn't they cut tax rates for the rich earlier this year??? I have a better idea. TAX THE F-ING RICH!!! Save our schools.

[Ted229]

08:28 AM on 04/13/2012

Look and see.

http://taxes.state.mn.us/individ/pages/residency_and_filing_status_filing_requirments_for_individuals_inctxrates.aspx

[aosborneh2o]

12:52 PM on 04/13/2012

At first glance, one would would say no. Except that if you track the amounts taxed under each bracket, you would see those increasing with the amount increasing more for the highest bracket. Those increases are in an economy where wages are at best stagnant and you pointed out in another post that wages have actually dropped (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Ted229/democratic-national-convention-charlotte_n_1419444_147783128.html).

So, I would say there was a modest decrease overall for higher-income taxpayers. However, this is coupled with a policy of tax subsidies to corporations (http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2012/02/magnetation_minnesota_tax_dollars_expanding_elsewhere.php) and professional sports teams (http://novikingstax.com/).

So, not sure if this was your point or not...

[OC Surfer]

05:01 AM on 04/13/2012

Louisiana changes education laws:

http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/12/schoolhouse-rocked-bobby-jindal-brings-real-education-reform-to-louisiana/

[Alux]

04:52 AM on 04/13/2012

Come on people. Schools are for teachers who "stimulate" the economy. Whoever heard of a sixth grader stimulating the economy.

If we closed school TWO days a week, at least until the election in November, think of all the benefits:

- Teacher would have more time to spend their salaries in the malls and "Stimulate" the economy even more,

- Teachers would have more time to campaign for Obama and the Dems, at least the pro-public union Dems,

- Teachers would not be less stressed and wouldn't need as much health care that we taxpayers have to pay for.

- The education our children receive now would not really be affected since the level of public school education is so low already, missing 40% of school won't change anything,

- Local Dem politicans can show how they really, really support public sector unions!

As for all those horrid brats, who need them! Let them "home-school" some. Schools aren't for kids, they're for the employees.

[frank day]

08:02 AM on 04/13/2012

It is so sad that there are people like you who have such limited

exposure to education that they actually believe those Heritage Foundation talking points.

[Alux]

08:25 AM on 04/13/2012

What, you think teachers should teach only two days a week?

Hmmm.

Great idea!

[frankenheimer]

07:48 AM on 04/17/2012

The article was not about giving teachers the day off. Many districts who go for the four-day plan still require teachers to report for meetings, professional development, and tutoring. I do wonder why the chip is on your shoulder re teachers, though. They didn't cause the budget problems in our schools.

[Karelh]

10:28 PM on 04/12/2012

Good thing we have all those nice schools in Afghanistan and Iraq and a new soccer field at Gitmo.

Our priorities as a nation are so out of whack!

[Ted229]

08:29 AM on 04/13/2012

Don't you believe in helping other people?

[simpleperson]

01:39 PM on 04/13/2012

Not when our own people are suffering.

[phantom power]

09:45 PM on 04/12/2012

Trying to ensure another generation of Republicans? This is a great way to go about it!

[jcaunter]

01:42 AM on 04/13/2012

Public schools today aren't about "education", the are about turning out obedient sIaves to the corporate state who are just smart enough to serve a burger, but nowhere near smart enough to analyze the policy implications of Ben Bernanke's Quantitative Easing program.

In other words, their educations are useIess.

[OC Surfer]

05:04 AM on 04/13/2012

Here's a better way:

http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/12/schoolhouse-rocked-bobby-jindal-brings-real-education-reform-to-louisiana/

[frank day]

08:05 AM on 04/13/2012

Jindal has made his ALEC campaign donors so very proud.