RALEIGH -- Taxpayers are asking Wake County school board members to consider four-day school weeks and fees for sports to help deal with next year's budget crisis.
Shorter school weeks and charging students to play sports are among the most common ideas left in the school district's online budget suggestion box. School leaders have received 463 suggestions on how to deal with more than $100 million in state and federal funding cuts that are expected to lead to layoffs, larger class sizes and the loss of some programs next year.
"If we get a single idea that's worth considering, it's been useful," said school board member Keith Sutton, who had suggested the suggestion box. "We need to find out from the public what sacrifices they're willing to make."
Sutton, chairman of the board's finance committee, had started the brainstorming earlier this month by suggesting Wake look at charging students to play sports, ride the bus and leave campus for lunch. He also suggested looking at charging high school students who park on campus more than the current $170 per year.
Amid dire budget predictions for next year, a number of people have suggested Wake go to a four-day school week and extend the length of those days. The goal would be to save on transportation and utility costs by closing on Fridays. Such a move could pose challenges for parents who'd have to find childcare on Fridays.
More than 120 school districts in 20 states operate on four-day weeks, according to Ashley Wallace, an education policy analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures. She said small, rural districts are more likely to try.
"It seems to a lot of people like it would be a silver bullet," Wallace said. "Some districts have seen savings. But there are a lot of variables."
For North Carolina schools to go to four-day weeks, state legislators would have to eliminate the requirement that districts have both 180 days of school and at least 1,000 hours of instruction.
Another idea in the suggestion box is to require students to pay for the right to play interscholastic sports. Several comment makers pointed out that programs such as the Capital Area Soccer League charge kids to play.
Bobby Guthrie, Wake's senior administrator for athletics, said it's uncommon for school districts in the South to charge athletic participation fees. Fees are more common in the Northeast and Midwest, he said
Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the state's second-largest school system, began charging athletes this school year to fund middle school athletic programs. Fees range from $50 per sport in middle school to $100 in high schools. Charlotte waives fees for low-income students who receive federally subsidized lunches.
Guthrie said he's personally opposed to charging Wake's 21,000 student-athletes a fee. He said it would make it hard for coaches dealing with parents who complain that their kids aren't playing even when they paid the fees.
Other suggestions include:
Encouraging more highly paid veteran teachers to retire early.
Making more cuts in administration.
Having employees take unpaid furloughs.
Proposals to both cut back and leave in place the number of teacher assistants.
David Neter, Wake's chief business officer, said administrators are organizing the suggestions to present to the school board, along with their ideas on the proposals.
