When A 4-Day School Week Might Cost More Than It Saves

First thing Friday morning, Bill Florence is getting his two kids, Chloe, 11, and Austen, 8, ready to head out the door.

"Did you guys brush your teeth?" he asks. "Yes," they moan.

Monday through Thursday, Chloe and Austen catch the bus to Peralta Trail Elementary School, but today, their dad scoots them into the family's silver Honda.

That's because Apache Junction Unified School District, just east of Phoenix, moved to a four-day week this year. With little else to cut out of its shrinking budget, it dropped Friday classes, adding an hour to class-time Monday through Thursday.

On the fifth day, Florence drops his kids off at a city-run daycare that costs the family more than $100 a month.

This year alone Bill and his wife, Jennifer Florence, will pay more than $1,500 in childcare because of the four-day schedule. "We are not happy with it," Bill says. "It isn't the ideal situation. We would rather have the kids in school on Friday."

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