A Four-Day School Week at Great Valley?

Could the three-day weekend be the answer to Great Valley School District's budget woes?

It's unlikely. But as school administrators face a serious and growing gulf between revenue and expenses, many drastic changes are on the table, including reducing the school week to four days.

The truncated week was second on a long list of potential district-wide cost-reduction measures at the school board's Feb. 14 meeting. But superintendent Dr. Alan Lonoconus's glancing reference to the measure was an indication of its remote chance of implementation.

"Do we look at a four-day week?" he said. "That would be great, if we could get other schools in the county to do that."

The fleeting mention was in contrast to the first item on the list — reducing district staff — which was discussed at length. Administrators are hoping to trim employee rolls through attrition, taking advantage of retirements where possible to reduce the pain of the cuts. Aides, some of whom receive benefits, are likely to be hit hard as teacher-student ratios are protected.

Many ideas for cutting costs were discussed for implementation next year, ranging from reducing library purchases to cutting German classes, to combining ninth-grade athletics with junior varsity squads. All the moves had proponents and opponents; one board member even described freshman sports as a "sacred cow" to be spared.

But with a $9.2 million budget shortfall projected for the 2012-13 school year, larger, more long-term solutions will have to be put into effect. Here is a list of some of those ideas already being discussed:

• Staggered start times — Having different start times for different classes or schools could cut back on transportation costs.
• Consolidation — "Redistricting is an option," according to the superintendent. Budgetary implications of such changes are still being examined, but it could involve consolidating buildings and switching from a middle school model to a junior high school model.
• Compressing the calendar — Eliminating spring break and shortening other holidays would allow the district to end the school year before mid-June. Instead, the final day would be June 2 or 5, saving two weeks' worth of air conditioning and other costs.
• Eliminating/scaling back unmandated services — The school district provides many things that most residents take for granted. "Kindergarten is an example," Lonoconus said. "By state regulation, we do not have to offer kindergarten. Some schools in state have started doing that."
• Enroll in PECO's Demand Response — By agreeing to allow PECO to cut electricity to its buildings on high-demand days, the district would stand to save a lot of money. Those days typically come during hot summer months, which wouldn't affect school anyway, according to district building supervisor Rich Krumrine. "The reality is that it's very unlikely it’d happen on a school day. In the last 10 years, I don’t know if there’s been a day [Demand Response] would have been on a school day," Krumrine said. "This is a place to get a nice piece of revenue with very little pain or no pain."