SALT LAKE CITY — Districts across the state will have the option of cutting five days from next year's school calendar to save money, the State Board of Education decided Friday.
"It's a budgetary measure in difficult times," said State Deputy Superintendent Martell Menlove.
Board members agreed they don't want to see school canceled but acknowledged these are tough times for education statewide. This is the second year the board is allowing districts to have a furlough — with a few minor changes. A furlough is time off work with no pay for an employee so their employers save money.
District leaders, such as Murray School District's business administrator Tim Leffel, applauded the budget-saving option, saying it would help prevent more drastic cost-cutting measures such as layoffs.
"The state board made the right decision. It provides flexibility for school districts. Whether it's used or not, it's very positive and supports the local districts," Leffel told the Deseret News Friday.
Davis School District spokesman Chris Williams said, "I think the state board is keenly aware of the difficult challenges each district is facing, and is trying to do its best to give districts a little flexibility as they tackle these budget challenges."
At least one board member pointed out that schools in other countries require many more instructional hours per year than Utah does and allowing districts to cut school days seems the reverse of how things should be. Board member Janet Cannon agreed, but pointed out the idea is to "offset budgeting problems."
Not all districts will use the option.
There are also a few new aspects to this year's furlough allowance.
District administrative offices will be required to be closed if district schools are closed for a furlough day.
The furlough option won't require districts to ax professional development days before cutting instruction days, as was the case this school year. Professional development days are when classes aren't in session and teachers can use the time for activities including training, grading and holding collaborative meetings.
"Many of those days have been cut and never restored," Cannon said. "They just aren't available to be cut anymore."
Districts are encouraged to choose the furlough days wisely, making the time off the least disruptive for student learning. For example, during a week when school is already out three days for a holiday, taking the other two days off would be a good choice, unless testing is scheduled.
In similar discussions a year ago, board members pointed out that simply axing the last week of school isn't a smart move. District calendars need to be examined carefully. "There are definitely days that are better to miss than others," Menlove said. "Let's make good choices."
School districts must simply notify the State Office of Education of their furlough intentions via a letter listing the total instructional hours taken off. The exception to the rule approved by the board Friday allows the districts to dip below the state-required 180 days and 990 hours. A total of 26.5 hours are allowed to be cut. Districts can't eliminate more than five days lasting more than 5.5 hours. For example, a district can't cut five seven-hour days.
Whether school districts and charter schools will take the allowed furlough days is yet to be seen as school boards have until the end of June to finalize budgets.
School districts that notified the state office of their intentions to take furlough days for this school year are: Duchesne, Garfield, Grand, Granite, Juab, Millard, Murray and San Juan. Charter schools doing furloughs are: East Hollywood High, C.S. Lewis Academy, Merit College Academy, Paradigm High and Pinnacle Canyon Academy.
Canyons School District spokesman Jeff Haney emphasized administrators would do furloughs in his district before teacher layoffs are considered. "While still in the preliminary stages of crafting the budget, and nothing is set in stone, we are indeed contemplating administrative furloughs as one way of making sure we maintain a high level of educational services with the funds we receive," he said.
Some districts may not opt for a furlough due to a freshly implemented law, HB295, by Rep. Ken Sumsion, R-American Fork. The legislation allows school districts to take the money reserved for building upkeep and repairs and use it for classrooms, including reducing class sizes, hiring teachers and buying computers. This could temporarily solve budget problems for some districts.
Further, some school districts may want to avoid a furlough since districts will need to eventually "backfill the hole they have dug for themselves," said State Superintendent Larry Shumway. He sent a letter this week to district superintendents and charter school directors, cautioning them on using one-time money to fix ongoing financial problems that will eventually catch up with them.
Jordan School District likely won't use furlough days for the 2010-2011 school year, simply for this reason, said spokeswoman Melinda Colton. "Our board's philosophy is that furlough days provide one-time money for what is an ongoing deficit," Colton said. "Ultimately, the savings that come with furlough days does not solve the long-term issues related to having a sustainable budget."
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