Four-Day School Week: High Gas Prices Force Rural School Districts To Shorten School Week

Four-Day School Week: High Gas Prices Force Rural School Districts To Shorten School Week

High gas prices, which continue to rise even as oil prices fall, are forcing rural school districts to switch to a four-day school week in order to cut back on busing:

We've all heard of schools closing because of heavy snowfall, but what about high gas prices?

That's just what is happening in some of the nation's most rural and remote school districts. As the price of gas continues to climb, they're shutting their doors one day a week in order to save on heating and busing costs.

The MACCRAY School District in western Minnesota voted earlier this month to switch to a four-day school week beginning in September. The decision to close the schools on Mondays will mean slightly longer hours on the other four days, but it will also mean a three-day weekend, every week.

"We thought about going to a four-day school week because we needed to save money. We just don't have money and we would like to try to save as many positions as we can in district," said superintendent Greg Schmidt.

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